Wipe Out
by Dark-Kingdoms
Summary: Shiro awakens in a place he doesn't recognize, to see his lord Kunzite defying Queen Beryl. What happened, where will that lead Kunzite, the Senshi and the Dark Kingdom? slightly AU, no OC... Kunzite x Zoisite.
1. Default Chapter

**Title :** Wipe Out  
**Fandom :** Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing :** Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating :** a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright :** Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.  
  
Author's comment : still playing with my favorite pairing. This one will be a bit longer than I'm used to, but it's all planned down and most of it is written already, so updates should be regular.

Reviews and beta welcome.

****

**Chapter 1 : Confusion**

The pain awakens me, then fades into a dull throb. A bright light stabs my eyes even though they're closed. Then it fades, too. I hear girls voices speaking in a language that sounds like mine, but slightly different. They wonder what's going on. I wish I knew, too.

I open my eyes in a place that went dark again. My sight is blurred, but I recognize right away the closest human shape, and my heart jumps in my chest.

Tall, wearing a gray uniform and a white cape.

Lord Kunzite. At least I'm not surrounded by enemies, unlike I'd first thought upon hearing the alien voices.

I try to sit. My limbs are numb. What happened to me?

My sight is getting better, and I can see past Lord Kunzite. Five girls are standing there, looking as surprised as I am. I remember having seen them in Lord Kunzite's projections during strategic briefings. The Moon Senshi. Except, the Senshi were four. There is another one behind these four, who looks a bit like Princess Serenity.

"Kunzite-dono?"

He looks at me with his face as indecipherable as usual. He doesn't seem too pleased, though. Are we in trouble? But I doubt the Senshi could defeat him, even together. His voice is deep and toneless.

"Shiro".

That's my name. I have a thrill, like each time that Lord Kunzite calls me directly this, and not "soldier" or something as anonymous. I never understood why he singled me out and took me under his wing.

Of course I fought very hard to prove myself worth of belonging to his army, and I'd spent my short life training. To be able to defend myself, and be able to kill. So, I'm good at it.

But until then, it had always made people hate me more. More than just because I'm a half-bred. Lord Kunzite never cared. He doesn't look very Japanese himself anyway.

My thoughts are confused and I try to focus on the situation, to be able to help if I can.

"The Senshi?..."

"Don't worry about them."

He gives just a glimpse at them, and I notice now the dark glimmer in the air between us and them. He rose an energy shield, so they are not a threat. I've never seen anything able to go through that sort of shield.

Reassured, I turn back my attention to him and my look falls on his hands. I gasp. The usually white gloves are reduced to shreds stained with green blood, and his skin is burnt and crippled.

I want to be by his side but I'm afraid to hurt him, so all I can do is to get closer and babble.

"Kunzite-dono, your hands?"

He looks down to them, flexes his fingers deformed into claws. My heart sinks, I can nearly feel his pain... but he doesn't show any. He just has a small wince as he conjures a yellow glow around his wrists.

An unpleasant voice storms.

"Kunzite! Why is this scum still alive? Bring me back the Ginzuishou!"

A giant image of Queen Beryl's head now floats in the air between the Senshi and us. She is furious. At Lord Kunzite? What for? He's her best Tennou.

"I won't."

What? Why has he said that? The Queen has no mercy and she was irate already!

"You dare? I am your Queen!"

"You're not. My Queen is Metallia, and you're no longer leading us for her glory. You're leading the Dark Kingdom to its defeat because of your petty whims, and I won't fight that hopeless battle for you any longer."

Lord Kunzite is defying her? Why?

"Die then!"

She storms a bolt at us, but Lord Kunzite holds me close and the room around us vanishes in a flash.

When my sight gets clear again, we are outside, at night, on the roof of a weird square building made of gray... it doesn't look like stone and it's not wood? There are huge metal constructions around, and light dots as far as my eyes can see. The air smells of smoke, burnt things and filth, and resonates with scoffed sounds of horns and others I don't recognize.

I snuggle against Kunzite instinctively.

"Where are we?"

I don't realize right away that he is hugging me back. He looks around slowly and replies :

"I'm only stopping here so I can locate... Here it is".

We teleport again. He made me travel along with him a few times like this, but I don't get used to it.

We arrive at the foot of a hill covered with pine trees. He raises a hand (still burnt, despite the spell he used) and the air trembles in front of us. We walk forward, facing an invisible resistance, then it fades, too, and we stumble on the other side.

Now we can see a big mansion on top of the hill.

"Can you walk up there?"

Lord Kunzite's voice is softer than I recalled. What happened to me that would make him worry, when he looks more badly injured than I am?

"Hai, of course."

I just feel sore, but walking actually helps to fade the pain.

As we reach the door, he stops and uses a spell again. He doesn't explain what it is, but I see his eyes glowing briefly.

We enter a wide room that goes up until the roof, with stained glass as windows, and nothing inside but a padded chair.

Lord Kunzite sighs.

"Not big on furniture, Nephrite?"

With a visible effort, he concentrates to conjure up a simple bench. I'm worried. In the past, I've seen him creating a hundred of canons out of nowhere, without seeming half as tired as he does now.

We sit on the bench. Since that Lord Kunzite hasn't released me, I assume he doesn't mind me sitting by his side, even though it's a bit weird for me.

"May I help you with your hands?..."

He doesn't reply right away, and I wonder if I've been too bold - he never needed help, he's the most powerful Tennou after all.

"The spell should be doing it..." his voice trails off as he looks at his hands. "But it doesn't seem to work that well."

He concentrates, the yellow glow appears again and turns into white as it intensifies... The crackles on his skin smoothen, flesh grows back a bit, and he regains mobility in his fingers. But his hands remain dark brown and painful looking.

He hisses between his teeth.

"Damn crystal. It won't get any better than that with magic."

I shiver.

"Could it heal normally then?"

He looks up to me.

"I don't know. Maybe. I've never had to wait."

Well, I have never used magic to heal wounds, so that would be where I can help.

"Can you conjure balm and fabric strips? And I will do my best."

A slow smile forms on his lips. I must be sounding funny to him. But an assortment of ointments and bandages appear on my lap.

I carefully remove the stained shreds of his gloves from his hands, then apply one of the balms on his skin and massage to help it penetrating.

"Tell me if I hurt you."

"You won't. The first spell I did was to remove sensations while it hasn't healed."

"Oh."

So he doesn't feel anything I'm doing.

Too bad. Because I do.

His hands are warm and strong despite the injuries, and I've never touched him for so long and so closely before.

I don't want to look at his face because I don't want him to notice the effect he has on me. It's so ridiculous. I only wanted to become a warrior and he wanted one he could trust. We were just helpful to each other, and it worked fine.

So why did I have to start feeling that way about him? Especially as it's hopeless. I never saw him show much emotion about anything or anyone. And he only has women around him - well, youma.

I've got to stop thinking about that.

"What is this place, Kunzite-dono?"

"It belonged to another Tennou, who's dead now."

"Is it in the Dark Kingdom?"

Silence. I look up after a few seconds, fearing I've said something wrong. He stares at me intently and whispers.

"I don't think it would be very wise of me to get back into the Dark Kingdom after defying Beryl... I chose this place because Nephrite protected it with defensive spells that prevent people from locating it easily, or to detect magic used within its shield."

I blush.

"Gomen, it was a stupid question."

"It's all right. You have a lot of information to catch up with. Many things changed since... What is the last thing you remember before today?"

I try to recall. My memory is extremely confused, but the last striking thing I heard was...

"A Tennou died. Tanzanite. He was killed on the battlefield and you called me to tell me. And... That's all."

He keeps silent for a while. Then he looks aside.

"That's what I thought."

I'm waiting for him to tell me what happened next, but he doesn't seem to be about to do it. It's like he forgot I was there, and I feel lost. I have to know and ask frantically.

"Kunzite-dono? Please? What happened to me? To you? How did Nephrite die? And if this place isn't the Dark Kingdom, then what is it?"

He winces and I realize I'm grasping his hands in my panic. He holds mines back.

"Hush, Shiro... This place is your world, but a lot of time passed since you last remember. The Dark Kingdom won the battle against the Moon Kingdom, but Queen Serenity used the Ginzuishou against us. We were sealed into sleep for centuries."

Centuries? It can't be.

"It's not that bad, Shiro. You'll get used to it. And it's not like if you had many things to regret from the old world, is it?"

What a strange thing to tell me. It's true that I didn't leave anything behind me that I'd miss. But then, I never had anything much to care about.

"I'll show you the world as it is now."

"But how come you know about it? Why haven't we been awakened in the same time?"

He pauses.

"You're human. The Ginzuishou has more power on you that it had on me or other Tennou."

It rings true, yet I guess he's trying to lie to me. But why, I don't know. And what he's hiding from me, I have no idea.

"The Senshi were reincarnated to fight us. All the other Tennou were killed. If we have any luck, the Senshi will keep Beryl busy until she gets killed, too, and she won't be able to find us."

It doesn't make sense. What he tells me about the Senshi, and the Ginzuishou defeating us, it does. But the only aim Lord Kunzite ever had was Metallia's victory. So why defying Beryl, knowing that the petty woman wouldn't let him get away with it?

He did let slip a few critical comments about Beryl before, but I would never imagine that he could turn his back to Metallia, even against Beryl.

But he won't tell me. He just talks about how the outer world changed while I was dead, and conjures up images to show me while I finish nursing his hands.

I'm not really interested by the outer world. It was never a very welcoming place for me before, and I doubt this will change now. It's noisier, and it smells of unnatural odors, and there's a lot less trees and flowers. Less quiet places to hide, too.

Also he says samurais no longer exist, and men in arms have less rights than before, and they don't even use swords anymore. Which means that my only talent is useless here. I don't see how I could make a living.

Well, there's always the other talent... The oldest one that will always exist. The one people always wanted me to use. But I sacrificed all I had to become a soldier precisely because I couldn't take any more of it.

Lord Kunzite tells me not to worry about it. That he will take care of everything and his magic will supply to our needs.

What I don't get is the "our". If he won't fight for Metallia anymore, of what use can I be to him? I would understand if he wanted a servant, because a powerful lord like him must have one, but it doesn't make sense when he says that he is going to take charge of all.

He uses other spells to conjure two futons, and weaves something that must be another layer of protection around the house. Then he wishes me a good night and I stay here, confused by the events and by his behavior.

I even wonder if he really is Lord Kunzite. Maybe it's a trick. It could be a youma pretending to be him, to fool me?... But as far as I remember, I don't have any vital information that would be worth such an elaborated plan.

Then again, maybe Lord Kunzite's enemies don't know that. They might be thinking that he trusts me more than he does.

But... It's way too complicated to explain it all. And why bother making up such a lie when torture would get them the same results faster?

I watch Lord Kunzite sleeping for a while in the dim colored light filtering through the stained glass, then I drift into sleep, too.

__

_to be continued..._  
  
_If you want more details on what happened before the fic (though this will be explained in time inside the story and is significantly different), it's loosely based on an alternate version of my fic __A Different Choice_


	2. Spells

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex

**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **the "pattern" for a while will be to alternate narration by Zoisite / Shiro and Kunzite, one chapter each. This one is by Kunzite and his chapters are usually shorter than Shiro's own.

**Chapter 2 : Spells **

His breath is quiet and slow for a long while, but I know he's not sleeping yet. He must be extremely confused. I feel so, too, and unlike him I know what happened. Even if I'm not really sure of how and why it did.

I usually don't need much sleep, and can even do without if necessary, but the Ginzuishou drained me... Yet a diffuse pain comes in throbs from my hands and prevents me from sleeping.

I used a spell to reduce the intensity of signals coming through my arms nerves, but despite what I told Zoisite, I didn't completely suppress them. I need to be able to hold things, and some spells do require specific moves.

Zoisite's care seems to have done some good, though - if anything, it distracted me quite pleasantly from pain for a moment...

I will stay awake until the pain fades enough. I have too many things to do before I could get some rest anyway.

Lying on my back, I analyze Nephrite's protection spells. They're not good enough if I've been able to find the mansion that easily. I reinforce them with my own inventions, adding to it elements that I know will disturb Beryl's magic.

Damn woman. I really wanted to believe that Queen Metallia couldn't have been so mistaken in choosing her as her vessel, but she made it impossible. Apart from the day where she broke Morgaine's barrier and freed Metallia, and the information she provided on the Earthian Kingdom, I can't think of any occasion where she was more helpful than damageable to us.

Zoisite - no, Shiro - finally fell asleep. The house secured, I give myself a respite to watch him in the dark. Being born in the Dark Kingdom has some advantages. Night vision is one of them. I don't have to risk awakening him by creating light to gaze at his beauty.

Since he didn't age once he became one of us, he shouldn't look younger than when he was Zoisite, but he does in a way. Or maybe he just looks less dangerous.

Not that it was ever a good idea to consider him as safe. I smile as I remember his wicked attacks and feels a bite in my heart. As if I had one.

What has he lost exactly when the Ginzuishou healed him? Has it just erased Metallia's influence, or also changed his human personality to make him more... moral, the way the Senshi are?

I hope not. I will have to check that. A more heroic Shiro would never accept to stay with me, I'm afraid. Though I'm not sure it would make a difference, with the time we've left.

Anyway, we need human identities. I go back into the ethereal plane to track the spells that Nephrite used to create his human persona.

I have to admit that I'm impressed by these. They deal with those tricky devices that they call computers and altered their data.

I usually avoid them because they are very sensitive to energy. Nephrite obviously was more at ease with refined art craft than with raw power, as his star spells indicated.

Too bad for him that he never took Zoisite seriously enough. I don't think he realized that it was not just for his pretty face that I had chosen him, but also because he had a real talent for fencing, and even better, a mind for scheming and magic.

I replicate his spells and adapt them to create birth records, school files and bank accounts for me and Zoisite. I have to make sure that Shiro's needs will be covered whatever happens to me, now that he has lost his powers.

My task is made more complicated by the precautions that I take to avoid leaving traces that Beryl could detect.

That work of precision achieves to exhaust me. When my spirit leaves the ethereal plane, I find myself breathing harshly. I wanted to make the mansion more comfortable before giving up to sleep, but I'm too tired.

I wonder what the Senshi are up to, and if Beryl managed to get the Ginzuishou from them. I don't know what I should hope for. Both sides will want us dead, now. I just wish for days, or weeks, before it ends.

--- _to be continued ---_


	3. Instruction

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex

**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **this chapter was quite funny to write. And it's a lot lighter than what I use to write, I find (which also means that I write more of it...).

* * *

**Chapter 3 : Instruction **

The day after, I wake up hoping it was just a nightmare. But it's true.

Lord Kunzite is already up and ready, and he must be rested because he added a table and chairs to the furniture. He's sitting there by the table and removing his plasters. He seems too absorbed by such a pointless task. I guess he's worried now about his decision from yesterday.

Queen Beryl... From the few he told me about her, what I saw of her decisions, and her fury last night... She's not someone you want to have for enemy. Not someone I'd have liked for ally, actually. Even less someone who forgives. So going back and apologizing is not an option.

I doubt Lord Kunzite would apologize for anything, anyway. He's too proud. And he shouldn't have to apologize. Whatever he did, he had good reasons. He certainly had.

I get up and he turns his head to me. After a few seconds, he gives me a pale smile.

"Ohayou. How do you feel?"

Err...

Physically, I realize that I don't have any after-effects from whatever happened yesterday. But other than that? Still perplexed by him, and wishing that we were back to a more familiar world.

"I feel fine."

"Good. I arranged a bathroom in the basement. There are clothes for you there that will be more suitable for today's schedule."

I nod and follow the direction he showed. The wood floor in the corridor changes into a stone stair going under into a dark room.

The "bathroom" is the Dark Kingdom version of the name, like the one I saw once when Lord Kunzite brought me to his domain, on the way to his report to Metallia, after Tanzanite's death. A cave of raw walls, with a black river running along a wall and forming a pool near me.

I sigh. I'm not that fond of the Dark Kingdom, for what I've seen of it. It's damp, dark, sometimes cold and sometimes unpleasantly soaky, and most of times ugly. But I figure that Lord Kunzite likes to have familiar sights around.

I bathe and wash my hair. When I finally take a look at the clothes that he set aside for me, I stare in doubt.

I wrap myself into one of the big towels and go up the stairs with the clothes in my arms.

"Lord Kunzite?"

He had closed his eyes and snaps them open when he hears me.

"Hai?"

I notice he got changed already. He wears the same kind of dark blue trousers he gave me, black tight fabric under a rather formless leather jacket. All have as strange a cut as the ones I carry.

"Are you sure these clothes are suitable? They don't look like soldier's clothes. What's today's schedule?"

He watches me for a long moment as if he didn't hear my question, and I start wondering what he's looking at. Finally he says.

"You've got to get used to that world. We'll do some sight-seeing. And we should go unnoticed. This is what boys your age are wearing these days."

Boys my age must have a bad taste, I think, but I dare not say it out loud. I nod and go back down to get dressed. I shouldn't feel the need to that amount of modesty, it's not like if he cared in one way or another, but his presence always makes me nervous and I'd rather avoid to be in a more vulnerable state than he already makes me just by existing.

There are the same kind of trousers as Lord Kunzite, of a lighter shade, and the oddly cut shirt with the shortest sleeves I've ever seen, in a very pale green. Instead of boots, I get strange shoes made of patches of leather and fabric of various shades of gray, with a supple sole. It looks weird but it turns out to be very comfortable.

I don't feel very dressed, even after putting up the short jacket on top of it. I just hope I haven't put something upside down. I go back to the first floor where Lord Kunzite is waiting for me.

He doesn't look as out-of-this-world in these clothes. Except for his hands.

I offer to renew the plasters and we sit in silence while I do that. His skin is getting smoother with the balm. It's still dark brown, though.

When I finish, he puts up new white gloves to cover the damages.

My stomach wakes up, too, and growls to remind me of its existence.

"Uh, Lord Kunzite, can we eat something?"

"We will eat outside."

I sigh again and go by his side. I expect him to teleport us, but instead we just stroll outside.

We walk down to the bottom of the hill, where a gray road leads to the town. Lord Kunzite comments everything to me on the way. Cars, people's clothes, road signs.

It all looks to me like my few visits in the Dark Kingdom. Alien and too many new things to sink in.

He makes us sit in a kind of restaurant where chairs are made of that shiny matter that he called plastic. He orders for us both, and while the waitress is gone he warns me that this is foreign food, but that it's fairly common now.

She brings a small cup of black drink for him, that he later describes to me as "a stronger tea". I get a bigger cup of what he calls hot chocolate. I ask him why he didn't order the same thing for me, and he looks slightly taken aback.

"It just seemed to be the right choice to do. But you can taste my coffee if you want. We're here to experiment after all."

I look down into my chocolate and blush, cursing myself for being so damn sensitive to that. I'm not a child anymore, why should I care? But, sharing a drink with my war Lord? Uh, that is really weird. The Lord Kunzite I knew wouldn't do that.

It occurs to me suddenly that there must have been a lot of time passing for him while I was sealed asleep by the Ginzuishou. He changed too much... Though physically, he's exactly the same.

I wonder how old he is. How many years he lived before we met, and how many years passed between the Dark Kingdom fall and awakening.

I ask him to avoid the coffee question.

He seems to be more embarrassed by that. Finally he replies, thoughtfully.

"About three years passed between your last memories and the last attack against the Moon Kingdom. It was three centuries before our seals were broken loose, but only those of the Tennou and Queen Beryl. A lot of youma remained sealed, as well as Queen Metallia."

"What about the soldiers?"

Another pause.

"I don't know. I figure they disbanded without us to lead them."

I look up to him, surprised.

"Weren't they sealed like me?"

A very long pause this time. When I think he's not going to reply at all, he utters carefully.

"I guess you were affected because you were in the Dark Kingdom at the time, while the other ones were on Earth."

It's only then that I realize something doesn't fit.

"You mean... How come there's been three years between my last memories and the last attack, if the Ginzuishou sealed the Dark Kingdom into sleep only then?"

He straightens, his eyes reduced to a slid, and clenches his gloved hand around his cup. I'm reminded suddenly that even though he now looks pretty casual, he's still a Tennou, and my Lord. There are things I'm not allowed to question.

I give up and bow.

"Gomen."

He relaxes a little, and pushes the plate towards me.

"You should taste the pastries. That's what we're here for after all, and you said you were hungry."

I accept the diversion and carefully bites into one. It's unusual but tasty, and I soon finish it and start another one hungrily. I rinse it down with chocolate, that turns up being the sweetest and richest drink I ever had.

I stop halfway, my mouth full, when I realize that Lord Kunzite is watching me with an amused smile on his face.

I hurry to swallow and try to make a decent face, apologizing.

"Why do you apologize?" he asks.

"Uh, I don't know, why do you smile? Did I do something funny?"

His smile fades a little.

"No. I was just thinking that you would get used to this time after all."

I don't know what to answer that and just shrug.

"How long did it take you to get used to it, when you awakened?"

He looks outside through the window and muses.

"It was different... The powers that I inherited from Queen Metallia allow me to tune myself to a time. So I don't have to learn all of it one little detail at a time. I can scan the place and get a global view of things. And learn languages and other daily things with a mind-transfer spell."

That sounds a lot less mind boggling than my own adaptation. I wish I had similar powers. But that is wishful thinking.

"Besides, it's not the first time I have to get used to a new environment. It happened the first time I led the first youma out of the Dark Kingdom to explore Earth, and each time we invaded a new country ever since."

He looks back to me.

"And it was actually the third time that we were banned from Earth by a mystical power. The first time we tried to make our way here, it was near Persia. We fought for thirty years before a party of wizards got us frozen into caves protected by dragons."

I stare at him in doubt. Dragons? Has there been dragons on Earth? Real ones? That must have been a very long time ago...

"But dragons died, and their magic with them, so we were able to sneak out some centuries later. The land had dried out by the time, and we moved to a richer space with more people, more energy to gather. And already weakened by endless wars. Europe. That's where Jadeite became one of us. And again, a woman called Morgaine betrayed us and banned us. It lasted longer this time."

I must be looking blank. That makes an awful lot of time. How much of it did he actually live? He looks only ten, maybe fifteen years older than I do.

"Was that long ago? That you were freed?"

He makes another pause. I wonder what's the connection between the questions that make him do so, while he answers others more openly than in my memories. I have a nagging feeling that it is the key to something.

"Seventeen months ago. The Senshi got awakened a bit later, apparently."

That makes about four years while I wasn't around. That doesn't explain the changes in him. And it's not that long, actually. Especially compared to what he already lived before.

He leaves coins to pay for the food - they changed with time, too - and we go walking along the streets. He keeps talking to me, but only about what we see and what I should know.

A part of me couldn't care less, but my old loyalty is still here even if none of that looks like a mission. So I listen attentively, thinking there must be a good reason for him to tell me all this.

Of all the things that surprise me, clothes are a big one. I had never seen girls wearing outfits as revealing except the Moon Senshi and Queen Beryl herself. Men's clothes are rather dull, on the other hand, so similar that they could as well be wearing uniforms. Where has the fancy season patterns gone?

Hairdos on the other hand are a lot less strict than I was used to. Though for some reason, Lord Kunzite and I still seem to attract attention as much as we did in Edo.

I can understand that he would, anyway, even without his uniform. Even trying to pass for a human, he's still handsome, and imposing.

Oh, I have to stop thinking those thoughts, it does me no good.

All the lights and sounds and things working all by themselves are eerie, too, but in some way it's like the magic in the Dark Kingdom. It doesn't really matter how it works, as long as I can figure how to use it and not to have it backfiring at me.

Besides, it's quite useful, and anything that can save me time or energy is welcome.

Once used to the accent, the language is very similar to what I speak, and I've always been good at picking mannerisms. So after a few hours of hearing people talk around us, I manage to speak without sounding too alien. With my looks anyway, people are rather surprised that I even speak Japanese.

Around mid-day we get ramen, and spend the rest of the day idling around. When questioned about why we don't teleport instead of walking, Lord Kunzite explains that he avoids to use magic unless it's necessary, because Queen Beryl might trace us otherwise. He did raise protection shields to hide us from her and Queen Metallia's powers, but it's better to be careful.

And then he adds that doing things like humans is the best way to get a sense of the new time.

That's the last thing I expected to hear from him. Doing things like humans? It always looked like he considered us as only slightly better than cattle.

He does get bored with walking, though, and we stop in a place where they sell these shiny heavy things called cars. The salesman is very servile and becomes even more so when Lord Kunzite appears to want to buy right away.

He has a strange reaction, though, when Lord Kunzite asks for my preference. I guess he thinks I am his minion or something.

I try not to show my embarrassment - not that I would mind having a, hum, relationship with Lord Kunzite, but it's just plain ridiculous to think that he'd want to have anything alike to do with me.

But it wouldn't be a good idea to tell this man that his customer is a demon lord from the Dark Kingdom, right?

So I just mention which cars I think are the prettiest. Lord Kunzite discard two of them for various reasons - not fast, or not comfortable enough - but does choose the last one.

He pays with the plastic plate called credit card, and we leave with a silvery gray car looking like a cat about to jump. The speed is exciting, a bit scary at first, but Lord Kunzite seems to quickly master the vehicle, so I don't worry. There's nothing he's not good at.

I catch myself gazing dreamily at him and gather myself into a straighter composure. It doesn't help that for once, without the duties of war calling, he's giving me so much attention.

I figure it's just because he's bored and doesn't want me to attract attention on us by messing up completely with this time's uses, or making a fool of myself while he's around. Also it seems, from what I've seen, that it would look majorly weird if he treated me like a soldier in public. I haven't seen any man in arms all day.

Still, it's disconcerting and makes it more difficult for me to keep my distance.

As night falls and I'm getting more comfortable with the language and the customs, we go to a restaurant that looks a higher class than the previous places we went to. It makes me nervous, and again we get those suspicious side looks from the waiters.

Lord Kunzite ignores them all and quietly gives me clues on what I don't know yet. The food is refined and I try not to mess up badly. But even when I do, he just looks amused and corrects me kindly.

It is... really odd.

I can't help to start imagining things. But I know deep down inside that I'm just being deluded.

He drives us back to Nephrite's mansion. Once there, he proceeds to give me a whole package of all I'd need to live here according to him.

An identity card with my real name - he says that there are so many people living in Japan now that no one will figure out I'm the same Kozakura Shiro from the XVIIth Century. A Japanese passport. A credit card at my name, with enough money connected to it to live in luxury for a whole human life or more. A bunch of papers.

And in addition to the car which, as I find out, is in my name too, an estate certificate that the house belongs to me. I stare at it in awe and confusion.

"Why?"

He puts a hand on my shoulder and a shiver runs through my spine.

"I have the dark power, I can find a new home or money any time. And I can also live without. You can't."

Despite his hand, it's like a cold shower draining me. It suddenly makes sense, the day out full of explanations, the odd attentions.

It sounds like he's just preparing me to live alone in this time.

And I realize that I don't want to live without him. I've always been surrounded by people and never cared for them. No more than they cared for me.

When Lord Kunzite took me under his direct orders, it isolated me from the rest of the army, but I was happy about it, and relieved in many aspects. I felt less alone with just Lord Kunzite watching over me, and everyone else avoiding me, than any other time in my life.

Going back to loneliness now... after having grown to like someone, when I thought I'd be alone forever... It's like starving again when you've finally tasted good food. Even if I never really was satiated...

I fight the tears coming up to my eyes and turn my back to Lord Kunzite.

"Thank you for everything."


	4. Regrets

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **and back to Kunzite.

When it all comes down to it, I think the whole point of writing this story for me was to write a "beginning" story where both would actually be somehow in love with each other, instead of using the manipulating Kunzite / love hungry Zoisite scheme that I tend to write.

* * *

**Chapter 4 : Regrets **

What have I done wrong again?

I was quite happy with the way the day turned out, as Shiro didn't seem too upset about the loss of his world as he remembered it, after all.

Then suddenly, after I gave him all that he would need, he became more distant than I've known him since... Since the first day I talked to him, when he was so distrustful of me.

When he thought I had singled him out because I wanted what all the other ones wanted of him.

Damn.

Maybe I should have split the mansion and given him his own quarters, but I couldn't bring myself to renounce to have him breathing in the same room. Not when it's the closer I can have him.

Am I going too fast with him? It's hard to keep in mind that he's no longer Zoisite and that he doesn't remember anything of what we shared - whatever it was.

Every now and then, I catch myself just in time from petting him or kissing him. He's so much like the one I do remember... Same voice, same spellbinding face. And a lot of the same behavior, too.

The main difference, apart from his memories, is his self-esteem. He obviously lacks a great deal of it, and he never had much anyway, even after being empowered by Queen Metallia.

Of course I wasn't going to encourage him to free himself from his obedience for me... I couldn't trust him enough. And given his fierceness and natural talent, I knew he might one day rival me in power.

But now that there's no longer anyone to fight for, and no Shitennou to lead, it's more of an annoyance.

I want him to want me. Of his own device. Not because he admires my power and wants to be in my good grace because he can't damn trust his own abilities to live alone, without someone to protect him from lust and hatred.

He's not in the old Kamakura anymore. If he has money, no one will bother him for being a half-bred, and no one will force their lust on him. The old wakashu way is dead.

sigh

I have really messed him up, haven't I?

I didn't cause his lack of confidence. He already had it when we met. It's no wonder he didn't trust anyone, after what he'd lived.

But I never did anything to change it once he enrolled in my service. It was simply more manageable that way. It prevented him from creating any bond or develop any empathy that would get in the way of his missions.

And it tied him to me as the only person he could turn to. Keeping him dependant on me, while he finally had the power to crush all his enemies.

I wonder... Did anyone figure out that I kept pretending that he needed more training, only to keep him as my student, when he was already more skilled than Jadeite?

I think Nephrite may have guessed it. Though if he didn't, that would explain how dramatically he underestimated him.

To me it was obvious, but I knew that Queen Beryl didn't pay enough attention to us to bother comparing our powers. And since our spells are so different, it's difficult to estimate.

But I trained Nephrite and he later trained Jadeite. I can tell. There are spells that Zoisite mastered that were trickier than whatever Jadeite did.

His fire control was superb. Sure he had an affinity with it from the start - maybe because he understands the volatile nature of it, that matches his temper -, but fire is by definition dangerous and easy to lose control of. Zoisite never did.

I must say he never asked to be released of his student status, either. I don't think he considered himself inferior to Jadeite. As far as I can tell, he actually didn't consider himself inferior to anyone but me anyway... And he was only just wary of Beryl and Metallia.

But he didn't discuss his rank. Never tried to prove himself against Jadeite. Only against Nephrite. Maybe he was aware that Jadeite was no longer a match for him.

I still don't know how much of his aggressiveness towards Nephrite was due to personal ambition, the eagerness to become the second more powerful Tennou in his place, and how much came from Nephrite being the main threat to myself after Tanzanite's death.

It's always been... rather amusing how protective of me Zoisite could turn, sometimes.

I miss him.

He's here lying in the dark within reach, but only physically.

How long will it take before anything gets built between us again?

_-- to be continued --_


	5. Revelation

**Title : **Wipe Out   
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom   
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite   
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex   
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **Zoisite narrating, and some more action, and the plot moves forward (who said "finally!"?...). It's a chapter I had fun writing because I could get the snark and psycho back in Zoi instead of just the "love puppy" angst...

Also some familiar characters appear...

* * *

**Chapter 5 : Revelation **

Lord Kunzite is more distant this morning. That just confirms what I guessed. I don't even dare to offer him to renew his plasters, even though his hands look only slightly better.

We don't talk much while getting ready, except when he gives me a dagger to defend myself. I'm a bit disappointed, because it's hardly a protection.

But according to him, no one wears weapons in this country by now, at least no one I should have to deal with. And I am not to show this one if I want to stay out of troubles.

Plus, he enchanted it with a shield spell and a poison one. So that should be more than enough, for the few danger I might encounter.

Then we go out like yesterday. He lets me order at the fast food restaurant. I half-heartedly try new things out of the menu, hoping it will please him.

I don't think he cares much about food. It's just part of his "training plan to get rid of Shiro", I figure. Or he has a mission for me. I don't know. I don't understand.

After a breakfast spent in a long uncomfortable silence, he tells me to visit the town by myself. He says Beryl shouldn't be able to track me down because of the protecting spells he cast on us both.

I'm unable to fake enthusiasm. I just nod and do as I'm asked, leaving him to wander aimlessly across the streets.

I barely pay attention to my environment, trying to figure out what to do with my life if Lord Kunzite leaves me.

The future is painfully empty. I never felt a lot of commitment to my own time. But at least I understood it, and knew what to make of it.

I don't know this world. There is no room for me here.

I look at boys my age walking around me, trying to guess what they do for a living. There are more young people outside today. Some have hair of all kind of colors, more eerie than Lord Kunzite's own.

I hear them talk of girls - nothing changed here -, lack of money and that educational organization called university, crappy works I don't get the first word of. None of that really appeals to me.

While I pass by a temple, I see offerings in front of it. It gives me a goal for the day. If we're going to part, I should find a farewell gift for Lord Kunzite.

I have no idea of what to offer him, though. He can conjure up anything he needs. And there isn't much that he needs, to begin with.

They do have a lot of toys making noise or lights and supposedly being useful, but I don't think Lord Kunzite would like any of it. He likes sober, dark things better.

sigh

Dark, fearsome things. Totally the opposite of me. I wonder why he accepted to buy the Jaguar car.

Well it's not exactly the kingdom of the dark and the fearsome, here. I find all kind of shiny pretty things, but hardly anything fitting a Tennou's temper.

I'm musing hopelessly at that when I see the reflection of those girls in a window pane. A short red-haired one who points in my direction, looking very agitated, while her friend with long blond hair tied in two stupid odango-looking ponytails tries to calm her down and drag her away.

The red-haired one escapes from her grip and runs towards me, calling out loud.

"Stop him! He killed a man!"

Uh oh.

I look around to see if people actually believe her, reach to the dagger in my jacket to silence her. Then I remember that Lord Kunzite asked me not to attract attention.

I push the red-haired girl and run away while she's down. I hear the other girl's shrieking, in an unpleasantly familiar voice.

Oh dammit. The stupid odango hair? She's probably one of the resurrected Moon Senshi that I saw two days ago, the one that looked like Princess Serenity.

Is the red-haired girl one, too? That would explain how she might have recognized me. I may have killed someone she knew in her previous life.

The streets here are crowded enough to offer a good protection and to lose oneself easily, but not too crowded that it would prevent me from rushing. The problem is that I do attract attention by doing so.

I slow down to enter into a big clothes shop, and try to hide among the hanged articles. As I crawl in a semi-closed corner, I realize that this would be a perfect gift for Lord Kunzite. A Senshi's head. Possibly two.

I hear the annoying girls' voices as they come into the shop.

"He can't have gone anywhere else!"

They ask around if I've been seen. I nearly rush out of my hid in frustration when a saleswoman tell them that she's seen a girl fitting the description walking in my section.

But I bite my thumb and creep a few departments farther, moving closer to the door in a detour. I wait until the girls walk away from the door, then I stand up and run towards it.

Right away the saleswoman points at me and warns them. I turn my head to give them a mocking smile as I pass the door and rush outside.

They follow me, as expected. I could distance them easily now, but I make sure to let them see me from far each time I could lose them. We gradually leave crowded shopping neighborhoods and reach ones with smaller streets.

I dive into a very tight passage between two houses, and wait out of it just at the corner. After a while I hear the girls' footsteps.

"Naru-chan, wait! It could be dangerous!"

The Senshi is more sensible than I thought, but her friend isn't. I don't know who I killed to make her so determined, but it was certainly someone she loved.

Good. That makes her careless. She barely slows down as she steps into the passage. I can hear them both panting.

Poor little things. Not much of a soldier's training, uh?

Just as a hurried breath comes to my ears, I turn around the corner, wraps my arm around the girl's chest and hold my dagger against her throat.

They both shriek. The Senshi faces me with a helpless look on her face. She seems to be about to cry.

So, it's the red-haired one I have in my power. And the Senshi cares for her so much that she won't try anything. Perfect! If she would just stop struggling in my arms...

"Don't make a move, neither of you. Or I kill her!"

The Senshi seems torn between anger and concern for her friend. Is that the fearsome Senshi defending the Moon Kingdom? How come the Dark Kingdom lost against them?

That Naru girl still tries to free herself from me.

"I don't care! You killed Nephrite, I want to see you die!"

What? What's that non-sense? I burst out laughing.

"Nephrite? You've got the wrong person, I didn't kill him. I would have done it if I could, though."

Yet something stirs in my mind, but I don't have the time to think about that now.

"Crescent Beam!"

That was a shout from behind me. I turn around to face the danger and I'm hit by something. Naru escapes from me while I try to gather my balance.

"Shabon Spray!"

A fourth voice coming from the same direction. I'm struck by what feels like a freezing wave and fall down, paralyzed.

"Are you okay, Naru-chan?"

I can't move and I can't see, but I hear footsteps gathering around me while the stupid haired Senshi starts babbling. Four... Five.. Six girls, counting my ex hostage and her friend. Naru calms down the blonde.

"I'm fine. Oh, you're the Sailor Senshi? We're so lucky that you arrived just in time! How did you know he was there?"

Uh? Are you blind? Your friend is one of them, silly!

"Oh, we, uh, were called."

From the voice, that's the one who did the Shabon Spray attack. She doesn't lie very well.

"Is that really Zoisite? He looks different."

Zoisite? Who's that? It's a fifth girl who's been speaking, with a lower voice.

"It's just because he doesn't wear his uniform, and his hair is shorter than the last time we saw him. But it's the same vicious rat, I recognize his face. And he attacked Naru, right?"

Sixth girl. Whoever Zoisite is, she doesn't like him, and she talks rudely. Naru replies :

"N...No, he didn't attack us. But I'm sure it's him. Didn't you hear what he said about Nephrite?"

"Precisely. He said he didn't kill him. And isn't it strange that he didn't use any of his powers? But..."

Shabon-girl sounds more reasoned than the others. It bugs me that apart from her, they all think I am this Zoisite. Though...

"Here. My VR computer tells me that the biological patterns match, but not the energy ones. He's human. Oh no!"

I feel like if I've been drenched into a river of ice. And that's not just the effect of her Shabon Spray. My heart just froze. I don't hear what they say next even though they discuss what they're going to do with me.

The pieces just arranged into a pattern that makes sense suddenly. The four years missing. The fact that I was supposedly sealed by Metallia while other regular soldiers were not affected. Lord Kunzite's behavior.

Well, no, THAT still doesn't make sense. But it's a bit less surprising that he'd do all that for me if I was a Tennou, and not just some bug of a human being.

I sense a weight and a shadow falling on us suddenly. The girls must suffer from it worse than I do, because I hear them shouting and dropping around me.

I feel lifted from the ground and hear my lord's voice, but I'm still paralyzed.

"What have you done to him?"

Oh. He sounds... pretty pissed. It makes me feel insanely happy. Shabon girl replies with pain in her voice.

"Shabon Spray... I don't know how it affects a human being... I didn't mean to kill him... I thought he had his powers..."

The low buzz of Lord Kunzite's gravity shields fades a little.

"He's not dead. Otherwise you'd be dead too already. Why don't you leave us alone, Senshi? We're not looking for troubles."

Not looking for troubles? No matter what you say, Lord Kunzite, we are their enemies. You even more than I was. Your kingdom plotted to fight the Moon Kingdom for as long as I remember.

And if I really was ever a Tennou... Then they are my enemies, too.

"You ARE troubles, all of you!"

Yes, loud one. And proud of it. Oh it's aggravating to have my tongue tied that way!

"It may be true, but I'd think that you would rather focus your energy on fighting the most dangerous threat than tracking down retired players."

I realize I had missed his sarcastic remarks. Another thing he seemed to have lost. I'm not unhappy that they're not aimed at me, though.

"Retired players? When did that happen?"

"In front of you all, silly girls. Don't you remember the Starlight Tower?"

Shabon girl calms down the discussion with her ever so reasonable arguing.

"We saw that, but why would we believe you? You always lied and plotted against us. It may be just a plan to fool us."

When Lord Kunzite replies after a few seconds, I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence on our schemes, Mercury. However, you overestimate Queen Beryl here."

"You kidnapped my Tuxedo Kamen! Give him back to me!"

What's a Tuxedo Kamen now? Stupid hair's favorite fashion accessory?

I feel so left behind.

"I can't do anything about your Tuxedo Kamen, he's in the hands of Queen Beryl now."

Oops. So it's someone, not something.

"Is he alive?"

"I figure he is. She didn't want us to kill him."

Stupid hair lets out a joyous squeal. Even her friends sound annoyed by it. Shabon girl - Mercury - gets back to the point.

"We can't trust you."

"I don't want you to trust me. Just leave us alone and we won't get in your way. Live and let live."

That's when Naru intervenes.

"You can't let them go! Zoisite killed my Nephrite!"

'My' Nephrite? Wow, wait a minute? When did a Tennou become a fashion accessory for Earthian girls, too?

"Zoisite is dead. He lost his powers and his memory. He doesn't even remember what he's been. He's no danger anymore."

Whaaaat?! That's not fair, Lord Kunzite! Maybe I've lost whatever powers I've had, but I'm still a soldier, and a damn good one with that! Without the rest of the gang, I could have taken down that Senshi and her red-head friend!

"How did that happen?"

"You don't have to know that, Mercury", Lord Kunzite snaps back.

Damn. I wanted to hear it, too.

"Does it have something to do with you both leaving Queen Beryl's service?"

There's a pause after Crescent girl's question.

"Something else that's none of your business, Venus. Don't you have any sense of strategy? Your enemy no longer has any of her most powerful warriors under her command. You should be making plans to attack her now while she's weakened. Not discussing why said Tennous left her, or risking your precious lives to fight us while Beryl is planning the world's destruction! Grow up! You're never going to win this war otherwise!"

Hehe, I don't have to see them to feel the Senshi offended by that.

"You don't want us to win this war."

"I don't want Beryl to win. She is going to destroy the world, and now that we are no longer part of the Dark Kingdom, that means she will destroy us, too."

I don't know Beryl a lot, but I hate her now.

"Then why don't you help us to fight her!"

Mercury sounds very enthusiastic now. Bleah. As if we were going to fight by their side for any reason.

Longer pause.

"For the same reason that Youma and Shinma always fought for Queen Metallia. Because we are her children, and she gives us life and power. We will all die if you kill her."

My heart stops. Die?... Lord Kunzite? He... can't...

Oh no. Will I die too? Is my life tied to Metallia's still, or will I survive? I don't think he knows either. And it doesn't matter. Because if he dies, I won't have any reason to keep living.

That's why he was preparing me to live alone. He expects the Senshi to win against Metallia, and when they'll do...

The Senshi didn't find anything to reply either. Lord Kunzite sneers and adds.

"See, you'd be really wasting your energy fighting me or Zoisite."

Darkness covers us.

* * *

_to be continued..._


	6. Secrets

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **misunderstandings deepen. Also another familiar character comes back into the plot (because I don't know you, but with just Zoisite and Kunzite it could become boring after a few chapters).

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Secrets **

Shiro avoids me this morning. It's probably as well. I don't want him to be around for what I have to do today.

We have a fast breakfast and split. I didn't have the time to teach Shiro how to drive, so I take the car. I drive to Shibuya and park at a distance from Bandana's apartment.

She's the only one of my youma who lives permanently on Earth. When we were unsealed last year and I sent her spying here, she found out that she liked the modern Japan.

I watch the neighborhood for a while, analyzing energy patterns around to detect traps or alarms spells. But there is none.

Bandana eventually comes out, in her human disguise. I follow her along a couple of streets, and when I'm sure that nobody else is surveying her, I hasten to her level and call her softly.

She turns to me and her eyes widen.

"Lord Kunzite! You shouldn't show around here!"

She grabs my wrist and draws me into the nearest coffee shop, looking around discreetly. We sit in the less visible corner of the room, keeping an eye on the doors.

"Gomen for the draw, Lord Kunzite. I heard you've been banished and... What happened? Can I help?"

It's good to hear that.

See, that's something that Tanzanite never understood, and how I got most of my information about him. He treated his youma badly, and even though they were scared of him, they didn't hesitate to betray him. Intimidation works only that far, but people can't give their maximum if they're fretting all the time. And why would they bother if they have nothing to lose?

"I just want to know what's going on in the Dark Kingdom. Did the Queen put her hands on the Ginzuishou?"

"Not that I heard of."

Interesting. So the Senshi must have managed to grab it when I left it at the Starlight Tower. It means that Queen Metallia is still sealed, and the Princess still has in her hands the way to defeat her.

"Has Queen Beryl taken measures to find us?"

She nods.

"She appointed Ashura to track you down. So Lord Zoisite is with you?"

I hesitate just a second. I don't want to get into details on what I've lost, and I don't want her to meet Shiro. She might give him suspicions on his past.

"Yes, he is. There's only Ashura?"

"The rest of the youma are pretty disorganized by now. She didn't give precise orders. It looks like she doesn't know what to do next. We assume we're to take over from your and Lord Zoisite's tasks, so we gather energy and look for the Ginzuishou."

Nothing new here. Strategy has never been Beryl's strong point.

I'm relieved that Ashura is the only one who is looking for us. She's one of Beryl's most trusted youma, but she's not the brightest. And even though she's more powerful than regular youma, she's not a match for me.

Bandana adds :

"From what I've been told, she seems more interested with Tuxedo Kamen for now."

It doesn't really surprise me. He has been her obsession from the start. Maybe the reason why she wanted Metallia's power, more than ambition itself.

"Youma who were in the throne room told me that the Queen had blasted Lord Zoisite. They didn't think he would survive."

"I didn't think he would, either."

She gives me a shy smile, something quite unlikely from her.

"It was... surprising to hear the news. I'm glad you're both all right."

I'm slightly taken aback. I didn't expect my youma to show sympathy. Maybe Zoisite's constant outburst of emotions ended up affecting us all.

I smile back.

"Thanks. Didn't Queen Beryl offer a reward for our capture?"

She wrinkles her face.

"We all know the only kind of reward that Beryl can offer, Lord Kunzite. Lord Zoisite achieved more successes than Nephrite and she didn't even think of the harm it'd do to our forces before blasting him. Lord Jadeite could have been more useful, too."

I sneer. Poor Beryl. She's not any better than Tanzanite in dealing with her troops.

"Do you want our help, Lord Kunzite? I know a few youma who are still faithful to you. We could take her down and replace her by you as the leader of the Dark Kingdom."

I shake my head.

"Unfortunately, we can't. Queen Metallia mixed too much of her energy with Beryl in order to survive the Ginzuishou healing. They can't be separated anymore. And without Metallia..."

"The Dark Kingdom will fall."

I notice the "will" instead of "would".

"You think it's going to happen?"

"Well... The Moon Princess has awakened. She has the Ginzuishou. And we don't have any Tennou in our ranks anymore. What are our odds against five Senshi when none of you managed to kill them ?"

"Do you resent me for leaving?"

She shrugs with a fatalistic smile.

"Would it actually have changed anything, if Beryl remains our leader? She might as well have decided to kill you too for a reason or another."

That soothes my suspicions a little. She's right, actually. I might...

The alarm spell in my head! Shiro has drawn his dagger.

"Sorry Bandana, I need to leave. Thanks."

So much for the discretion. I extend my consciousness to locate the dagger, and teleports a few steps above it to identify the danger.

Shiro is lying on the ground, unconscious it seems, surrounded by four Senshi and two other girls. I cast the Darkness Dome spell on them and levitate Shiro out of it.

Silly girls. I'd gladly make them pay for hurting Shiro, but I need them to counter-act Metallia's plans and win me some time.

I think I manage to talk them into not trying to give us more troubles. But maybe we should move out of the country, or at least out of town to avoid them.

I didn't want to confuse Shiro even more, but it should be fine as long as we stay in Japan. That would mean I'd have to build a new lair from scratch as Nephrite did, though.

I teleport with Shiro back into Nephrite's mansion, hoping that neither Ashura nor Beryl noticed the recent display of magic.

At least in what has become our home I can practice more safely. The protective spells also block out people from sensing magic used within its walls.

I unweave the Shabon Spray effect and Shiro opens blurry eyes on me. He focuses on me without saying a word.

"Are you okay?"

"Cold and bruised. But it's getting better. Thank you."

Damn! Why does he have to be so distant?

"What happened?"

He takes some time before replying.

"Two girls recognized me. One of them was a Senshi. She called the other ones, I figure."

That doesn't sound like him to be so reserved about it. Usually he would be raging about the girls or bouncing around to convince me to go get back at them.

Zoisite...

"What happened, then? How did you find me?" he asks back.

I point at the dagger I brought back with us.

"The alarm spell in your weapon got triggered when you took it out. And I can locate it."

He doesn't look exceedingly grateful about it. Knowing his sense of pride, I can tell that his relief to have been rescued is probably overshadowed by his frustration over his defeat and over the fact that I checked him out.

That, at least, didn't change...

I can't take it.

"Call me if you need more healing."

He nods but doesn't call me back as I move to the other room.

_to be continued_


	7. Information

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **Zoisite is an insecure little weasel, that's for sure, but he is a sneaky, plotting insecure little weasel. Even without his powers. It's not a Dark Kingdom thing. He always had it in him.

**Chapter 7 : Information **

Sensations come back in my limbs and I shift on the couch. I look at Lord Kunzite, wondering if I should let him know that I've heard his talk with the Senshi. Surely he had reasons to hide me my past, and the odds that we'll die, whether Beryl wins or loses...

And maybe I could get more info from him if he doesn't know what I know, since he doesn't want to tell me things right away.

So, I only reply briefly to him, hoping he will feel inclined to fill in the blanks. Of course he doesn't. He just retreats to the table and ignores me, feigning to be absorbed in removing his plasters.

His hands don't heal very fast. Every morning and every night, he uses a healing spell on them, trying new variations each time, but it works only ever so slightly.

The black, crippled skin from the beginning has turned into a brown bark lacking suppleness, then into a brownish-green slightly softer skin. It was still hard under my fingers the last time I massaged them with balm, last night.

It doesn't seem to hurt him anymore, though. I figure it might if he hadn't cut sensations into them.

Still it's strange to see him actually wounded. He's mastering all sort of shields that even Queen Beryl hasn't been able to go through last time, and he can teleport without even thinking. So it's hard to get to actually hit him.

Even when he fought with the regular army, no one ever managed to go through his guard. Not even Tanzanite's spies. He spotted them from too far.

He said it's the Ginzuishou that did that... I wonder how. If only I could ask the Senshi...

Now that's a plan. If Lord Kunzite convinced them not to attack us anymore, I could actually go and ask them. They were there when he told Queen Beryl he was signing off. Maybe they've seen what happened before.

And after what he told them, and Mercury's reaction... They probably won't be too wary of me. After all, I'm defenseless now... hmpf

I get up from the couch, stretch my body to eliminate the last effects of the Shabon Spray, and walk towards the door.

He calls me.

"Shiro? Where are you going?"

I can't lie straight to his face, so I keep my back to him.

"I'm hungry. I'll have lunch in town."

I wish I could see his face. But then he'd see mine.

"... Don't leave unarmed. And run away if you come across these girls again."

snigger

Yeah, right. That dagger is better than a dog's collar, uh? It even tells you when I'm in trouble.

It's all I have, I figure. I walk back to the couch to take it, and leave.

Now I have to find the girls. And this town is desperately huge. I go back to where I met them first. They can't have gone very far.

It takes me some time, but I finally spot the girls on the terrace of a coffee shop. All of them, except that they don't wear their Senshi outfits. They are talking and comforting Naru.

Well, most of them. The odango-haired one is busy eating the biggest ice-cream on the table.

I think of how Naru doesn't seem to acknowledge that her friend is a Senshi, how the other ones lied to her, put two and two together, and realize that they probably are under cover. People don't know they are the Senshi. So unless I provoke them, they won't start a fight in public.

Good. That should prevent some problems.

I don't quite know how to chat them up. Mercury may be willing to give us a chance, but Naru, Nephrite's pet, certainly won't. Hey, I wouldn't let it go either if someone killed lord Kunzite.

Here's my chance. Stupid hair and Naru leave together while the other ones remain sitting. I wait until the two are out of sight, then I walk quietly and openly to the others, trying to look as innocuous as possible.

Don't laugh. I can do that.

Anyway, they do look startled, but they just exchange worried looks, without alarming everyone. So, I was right I figure.

I choose to follow Lord Kunzite's version, even if it's not completely true by now.

"Hello. I'm Shiro. It seems we've met already."

Mercury discreetly checks her pocket computer, probably looking for signs of a trap, while a blonde one - that would be Venus, if I remember - replies.

"Did you recover already?"

"Yes, thank you for asking."

Oh, I should have tried that earlier. Talking nicely. Because the look on their face is priceless. I refrain from giggling but I can't help smiling.

"Anyway, Lord Kunzite told me that he had made a kind of... deal, with you, and I was wondering if you would give me just some help."

Mars growls.

"We didn't make a deal with your master."

Venus softens her.

"Well, not really... But we talked about it and it seems that you are not... the main danger for now. So as long as you don't attack innocent people, we will leave you alone. But don't push our patience too much."

She looks sweet but sounds determined. In her quietness, she may be stronger than Mars. I make a mental note not to underestimate her.

"It wasn't my intention. I am just curious. I remember seeing you the night I awakened - in the Starlight Tower. But I don't remember anything else from before. Could you tell me what happened that night? What did you see?"

The tall one, Jupiter, gives me a distrustful glance.

"Is that all that you want?"

I catch myself from snapping back, and instead reply with my best 'lost puppy' eyes.

"I can't remember where I'm coming from, and Lord Kunzite won't tell me anything. But I have the right to know what happened to me, right? What am I doing here?"

They keep silent for a while, exchanging glances. Then Mercury speaks thoughtfully.

"We don't know everything that happened to you. We had a fight, you and Kunzite took Tuxedo Kamen away. And some time later Kunzite brought you back in the Starlight Tower, unconscious, took the Ginzuishou from Sailor Moon, and used it on you. Then you... awakened, Queen Beryl appeared... And you know the rest."

The Ginzuishou? He used it on me? Why? As far as I know, it does no good to any of us. Sealing our energy, dissipating it, or healing humans from demoniac possession...

Oh... Could he be the one who took my powers away from me?

But I can't begin to understand why. The obvious answer is that I must have done something when I was a Tennou that angered him, and that this is his way to punish me. But it doesn't make sense.

Maybe it has something to do with Nephrite's death? He didn't seem too sad about it when he talked about him, though.

"Did he say..."

"Ah ah! Queen Beryl will reward me if I bring back your head instead of the Ginzuishou, traitor!"

I jump aside just as a firebolt crashes on our table. I roll on the ground and turn back to see who talked. It's a youma, of course - one I don't recognize, who looks like an ugly old witch. I'm just lucky that these dumb creatures tend to brag before they fight.

Combined girl voices cover up her frustrated comments about her failure.

"Mercury Power, make-up!"

"Mars Power, make-up!"

"Jupiter Power, make-up!"

"Venus Power, make-up!"

Various light effects blind the youma while I creep from table to flower pot to sneak away. I don't want Lord Kunzite to find out what I did by using the dagger. Besides, this is not my fight, not really. Better let the Senshi deal with the problem.

"Shabon Spray!"

Mercury's attack dissipates a second fire wave, but it creates a deep fog in which the youma can hide. And while the Senshi can't strike without risking hitting each other or an innocent bystander, the youma is only surrounded by enemies.

"Hold on, I will make light for us!"

I hear Venus' Crescent Beam invocation interrupted by a shriek and a loud thump.

"Venus! Soul Fire!"

Silly, that. Mars strikes in the direction from where Venus cried, but the youma wasn't dense enough to stay in the same place, and now she knows where Mars is.

A buzz and a shadow come from Mars's direction, followed by a stuffed cry. Two done, two to go. Oh come on, Senshi, can't you do better than this? Don't tell me I will have to help you to save myself?

That wasn't this youma's usual attack, though, and most of them only have one. Could there be two of them?

I perceive very slight whispers, not enough to understand what they are or place them, then I hear from somewhere else :

"Supreme Thunder!"

A bolt electrifies the air, and the water fog condenses into droplets, clearing out the view. The two Senshi left are hidden, though, when Mercury raises from behind a bush and strikes another Shabon Spray at the ugly witch youma.

It crosses the youma's fire attack, freezing it and the youma into ice.

Jupiter stands up from her hiding place and waves to Mercury.

"Your plan worked!"

It's too late when I hear sliding footsteps behind me. An arm blocks my shoulders, two others grab my waist, and a sword's blade raises against my throat.

"Mine too", says a playful voice in my ear.

Mercury and Jupiter turn to us.

"Stay quiet, ladies. My mission is to capture the traitor Kunzite and his pet. Please stay away and you will be fine."

How's that, his pe...

A black whip takes away the blade from my assaulter's hand, and I shake her hold to escape while she's surprised. A shadow kicks her away and the next thing I see, a four-armed youma with pointed ears and golden eyes is stabbed by another youma wearing a ninja-like outfit. This one I recognize. She's Oniwabandana, one of Lord Kunzite's favorite youma.

The four-armed youma bursts into flames and Oniwabandana turns to me, then bows.

"Apologies, Lord Zoisite. I didn't know if you had a reason to wait before striking Ashura, but I thought it was better to intervene, in case of."

Uh? Oh, yes. I am Zoisite. "Lord" Zoisite? I like the sound of that...

But... striking? Doesn't she know that I'm not a Tennou anymore?

"What are you doing here?"

She looks down as if it was a reproach. Wow. I didn't think I'd see the day where a youma would show me respect and fear. They didn't treat me badly because Lord Kunzite said I was useful, but as a human I couldn't compete with them.

I want my powers back!

"I was keeping an eye on Ashura since she was supposed to track you down, as I told Lord Kunzite this morning. I hope I didn't interrupt one of your plans?"

I figure... that means that she remained faithful to Lord Kunzite? Well, certainly. And if she did...

"No, that was fine, thank you."

"Do you want some help to fight the Senshi?"

Mercury and Jupiter, who were trying to reanimate Venus and Mars, stand up and face us angrily.

"What? Zoisite, you promised!"

Yeah yeah... Well no, Kunzite promised, I didn't, but you are useful, little girls.

"No, thank you Bandana. We... Lord Kunzite made a kind of non-aggression deal with the Senshi."

"Ah, I was wondering why they were protecting you..."

People around us start gathering, staring at the girls in sailor suits, and even more at Bandana.

"Bandana, could you teleport us to some place else? I, uh, I guess Ashura blocked my power or something."

"Of course."

She takes us away into a human flat.

"It's small but safer here. I protected it with spells."

I nod and work a way of getting information from her while convincing her not to talk about it to Lord Kunzite. She takes me by surprise.

"You must feel very happy now."

Happy? That my lord took away from me the powers that would allow me to defend myself? That we're both going to die very soon when the Senshi will have their final fight against Beryl?

I try to figure out a believable answer when she adds.

"You don't have to lie. We all knew your feelings for him, and how upset you were when he was cold to you. So you must have been very glad when he chose to defend you against Queen Beryl. It cost him a lot to do so."

I stare at her blankly, then remember that I'm not supposed to be surprised and I turn my back to her, collapsing on the couch as my legs betray me.

Chose... me? Over Beryl?

Were we?...

"Uh... Bandana?"

"Hai?"

"What... did you know exactly about... Uh... Lord Kunzite and me?"

She giggles.

"Well you were never very discreet, the two of you. It was cute, though. Especially when you asked me to take that picture of you together."

I try to imagine Lord Kunzite posing with me for a "cute" picture. That is VERY weird. Surreal, actually.

I don't try to picture me and Lord Kunzite having any kind of relationship other than professional, because that comes to my mind way too easily and I want to stay as focused as possible on making Bandana reveal me more.

"So... everyone knew?"

"Almost everyone in the Dark Kingdom, yes. I am not sure about Queen Beryl, otherwise she might have thought about it twice before trying to kill you, even if you had disobeyed her. But then, maybe she thought that you were just playing around and that Lord Kunzite wouldn't care. Those of us who know you both better were not that sure. I can't say I expected Lord Kunzite to go that far, though."

I'm glad I'm sitting already. She's saying that Lord Kunzite rebuffed Queen Beryl and got banned from the Dark Kingdom because she tried to kill me and he wouldn't let her do it?

That's just... I can't believe it.

I mean, I would have done it for him. I would give my life for him without any question. But I never dreamt he would do even half of the same for me.

I feel tears coming up to my eyes and I hate myself for that. Lord Kunzite always said that I shouldn't let my emotions come in the way of my duty.

And he gave up his task of Tennou to protect me?

That's just too difficult to grasp. I need... evidences. There is probably something else to it. A plan, or...

"Are you all right, Lord Zoisite?"

I jump on the couch. I had nearly forgotten that Bandana was there with me. I try to divert the conversation.

"Uh, yes. I never asked... What is Lord Kunzite's relationship with Queen Beryl exactly? Before I... joined the Dark Kingdom?"

There's a slight pause.

"As far as I know, he always tried to please her because she had freed Queen Metallia, and later after our defeat against the Moon Kingdom, she was her chosen vessel. Is there anything else?"

I don't know how to phrase my question, so I just give up subtlety and ask bluntly.

"He loves women better, usually, right?"

I'm surprised to hear her giggling, but I must still be looking teary-eyed so I don't dare looking at her.

"Oh, that's the point? He usually does, I figure. But I don't think he touched one ever since you and he became... an item. To the dismay of a few youma."

"And before?"

Another thoughtful pause.

"I'm not sure I should discuss this with you. Lord Kunzite might not like it. Why don't you ask him directly?"

I finally turn to her.

"Ask him about his past before me? To Lord Kunzite?"

She softens.

"Forgive my honesty, Lord Zoisite, but why are you so distrustful of him now? What more proof do you need of how important you are for him?"

I stare at her in complete confusion. I guess... I guess I never really believed that he could love me and I just tried to be content with what little attention he gave me...

And now that it seems that he could, indeed, feel something for me... I'm scared. I'm scared to believe in him and find out it was a lie. It's worse than when I didn't have any hope.

_To be continued..._


	8. Sheets

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes : **... weird title. But to keep the "theme" of chapter titles (only words with no other vowel than "E" for Kunzite. Go figure. It just turned out this way), it was the best I could come up with.

Don't set your expectations too high ;)

* * *

**Chapter 8 : Sheets**

It's starting to get late and he's not home yet. With what happened today, I have reasons to worry. Does he even intend to come back home? Or did something happen to him?

I'm about to risk attracting Beryl's attention by scanning the area in search for him, when I feel his presence across the mansion's shield. A moment later, he comes in, hardly more enthusiastic than when he left.

At least he is looking at me. It doesn't do me any good.

"Are you all right?"

He steps closer, like carrying a burden on his shoulders, and stands right in front of me.

"I heard what you said to the Senshi this morning. Since you didn't want to talk to me about my past, I went and asked them. And to Oniwabandana. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

I'm floored. I try to come up with an answer, but nothing seems good enough.

"Why didn't you tell me that I had been a Shinma, and that we're going to die when they kill Metallia?"

What?

"You are not going to die, Shiro. The Ginzuishou cured you from all of Metallia's energy, so you will be safe when the Dark Kingdom dies."

He doesn't reply right away, shakes his head slowly.

I'm still staring at him like a fool. He makes the last step to me and looks up to me, his face so close that I can feel his breath on my lips when he whispers.

"Oniwabandana told me what I couldn't believe. That you and I... I was your student. I lived with you. And apparently, she and pretty much everyone in the Dark Kingdom knew that we were... more. Is it true?"

Oh Darkness... I thought guilt was something I couldn't feel.

"... It's true".

"Why didn't you tell me about that either?"

"What was I supposed to say? That to ensure that you wouldn't try to rival me or backstab me once you had been empowered by Metallia, I tried to turn your gratefulness into something more? Or that it had been a noble love getting born naturally between us? I didn't want to lie to you, I had done that enough. And I couldn't tell you the truth or you would hate me. Like you do now."

He frowns, and I know I have lost him.

But then his expression unexpectedly softens, bewildered, and he comes closer, wraps his hands around my face.

Kisses me.

I fight my instinct of turning this gentle make-up kiss into something wilder, until he does it on his own. I give in for a while, holding him close and relishing the touch I had been denied. Then I have to stop and ask him.

"Did you recover your memories?"

He shakes his head with a smile.

"So how... why?"

He giggles in his usual way, a delicate hand by his mouth.

"Did you really think you had tricked me into loving you? Lord Kunzite, I respected you and admired you as soon as I saw you in action leading the army, and I started to desire you not so long after... I can't tell if I believed in your love when I was a Tennou. But I know I certainly enjoyed any bit of attention you would give me, fake or real..."

He snuggles back into my arms and rubs his body against mine, purring the next words.

"Can't we just get back to that? How close were we exactly?"

The Shinma in me thinks of all the things I should check before giving in to him, and how I should not give in at all because it makes me vulnerable, and is not proper behaviour for a child of Metallia.

Another little part of me replies that it's Metallia who will cause my death within a too short span of time, and that I should enjoy whatever is left of it as best as I can, proper behaviour be screwed.

And it really doesn't matter what those two parties are arguing over, because my body and the rest of me are already committed to catch up on the time lost with my little sakura, and he's all I care about any more.

It's impatient and messy, yet like drinking after two weeks in the desert. It hadn't been that long since he lost his memories, or since our last wild night before that, but I had always taken it for granted by then. It makes a world of difference.

As the first round trails off, I search for the look on his pretty face, hoping to see the same bliss that I feel.

He rather looks stunned.

I'm struck by the thought that he is not physically the same as when he was my lover.

"Are you all right?"

He seems to reintegrate his body just then, shudders and turns bewildered eyes to me.

"You said?..."

He blinks, as uncertain as I am.

"Oh, wow. Yes, I'm fine. I didn't expect... I didn't think it'd be that good."

I wonder for a split second if that's not just flattery. But with us not being master and pupil anymore, and no hierarchy above us, it's not like that would be of any use to him.

And on second thought, it's not exactly a compliment that he'd be surprised that it was good. I know his previous experiences weren't all that pleasant - if anything because from what I gathered, they were out of necessity, rarely lust from his side if ever at all. But still. He had low expectations, then...

I'm trying not to get bitter about it. I shouldn't be. From what remains of his memory, he has no reason to expect a lot from me. After all, I was heartless and manipulative with him, at that time. It just... stings to be faced with it when I'm trying to... to what? Amend myself?

The Shinma in me stirs. I shouldn't do amends for anything. Whatever happened is the past and can't be undone, and I did nothing than any other Tennou wouldn't have done.

I cringe and lay back, eyes closed, trying to contain a growing anger. I can't let that ruin this moment. I knew it couldn't be easy to adjust to it, for both of us. It won't be the same relationship as I had with Zoisite, no matter what I do.

It will take...

"Lord Kunzite? Did I say anything wrong?"

I feel him moving by my side and open my eyes to see him above me, looking concerned. My resentment is drowned. For the few he remembers... It's a miracle that he does care at all.

* * *

_To be continued... and merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate it ;)_  



	9. Vacation

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.  
**Author's notes : **a short chapter told by Zoisite, now THAT is original...

* * *

**Chapter 9 : Vacation**

It went faster than I expected. I thought it would take me hours to get him to spill the truth.

It went better, too.

He seems to be pretty embarrassed about having 'manipulated me into loving him'. I'm not sure whether I should put his mind to rest about that or not, as it makes him more... accommodating, I guess.

I don't get it. When Oniwabandana told me about this affair between us, I imagined much worse than that. That I had used him to get promoted. That it was just the random wakashu/nenja routine.

I didn't expect him to be so giving in bed, for one, and to even know or care what I liked. Maybe that just stems from him thinking he had to make special efforts to ensure my loyalty by the time.

But I also talked to him about my past - my real past, I checked, not some made-up tale designed to get me pity or attention. It's not something I do. It must have been more than mere lust for me to do that.

And then of course... he did endure the pain of using the Ginzuishou to revive me. And chose exile to protect me when it appeared that Beryl would not let me back into the Dark Kingdom.

I know I wear a stupid smile as I remember this.

I snuggle against him some more. He holds me closer and strokes my back.

"Not sleeping, Shiro?"

His voice is amused and fond. Fond. I replay the sound of it in my head then look up to him and grin.

"We have much better to do than sleeping".

He cuddles me a bit higher against him to kiss me.

It could go on forever, I think, but I soon notice a shadow in his eyes. I have to poke at the wound.

"How much time do you think we have left?"

He's startled and thinks up of his answer. Ever since I 'awakened', he never lied straight to my face. Covered the truth, presented it in a convenient way, maybe, but he never really lied.

"It would depend on whether she tries to attack the Senshi before they find an access to the Dark Kingdom by themselves."

"You don't think it will be long, do you?..."

He delays his reply before brushing up the inevitable.

"I'll treasure what we'll have. It's more than I hoped for."

We do end up sleeping, eventually. Too much for my liking, when I realize how late in the day it is when I open up my eyes. We can't afford to waste that much of the precious time we're left.

Kunzite makes a passing comment on how he tends to forget that as a human, I don't have as much endurance or energy as a Tennou anymore. I know he doesn't mean any harm, but it hurts to be reminded that I once was more than I am.

Strangely enough, then, it's him who suggests that we should not spend all of our time in bed. I can tell he's cautious about my health. Not without reason, because no matter how much my mind tells me that the clock is ticking, my body does appreciate the leisure time.

So, we go out to drive and eat and walk and do the mundane things that humans do in this time and place. He brings me to a park in which plumtrees are in bloom, and we sit on the rich grass talking non-sense, or just stay silent, side by side, my head on his shoulder, his arms around me.

People look at us, somehow puzzled by our looks I figure, sometimes affectionately, and only ever getting negative when they hear my voice.

When I can't be just gazing at him, it feels a bit empty not to have any goal any more. No orders to follow. No rival to keep in check. No enemy to kill.

There are the Queens' youma, of course, but they are no match for Kunzite. And with five Senshi armed with the Ginzuishou knocking at the Dark Kingdom's gates, it would be silly of them to waste any more of their forces against us, wouldn't it?

And there's this threat above us... Even being out of the game, we know that it is still going on, and that it will affect us, no matter what we do. I hate that. To know that it will end soon, and I just can't accept that I don't even know what is going on exactly.

I say it to Kunzite, and he suggests we go see Bandana. She is still in touch with the Dark Kingdom, after all.

We drive there, but Kunzite stops quite far from her home. I've told him what happened with the four-armed Youma, and he wants to make sure that Queen Beryl doesn't know who killed her dear Ashura.

I'd like to go with him, but he won't let me. Because I'm powerlessm vulnerable. I clench my teeth but say nothing.

He tells me to remain in the alley, hidden, just the time for him to teleport in Bandana's flat to check it out, and then he'll be back.

He vanishes, and I pop my head out of the alley to look at Bandana's windows.

As something hit my skull, all I can think is "Not again!" before all goes black.

* * *

_to be continued..._  



	10. Schemes

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.  
**Author's notes : **we're back in epic mode. Sort of. Kunzite is a bit... irritated.

* * *

**Chapter 10 : Schemes**

My suspicion rises when we arrive near Bandana's street. I can't sense any magical activity around, and it is in itself an anomaly. The previous time I had come around, she had a ward encircling it at a distance.

It might have been triggered or deactivated by something other than a hostile youma, maybe when she let Shiro through the day before. But it is worth getting cautious.

I increase the intensity of my mind search, thinking it is better to be detected and risk an attack now than by surprise later, but there is no reaction and still no sense of spells.

I instruct Shiro to stay hidden in the narrow alley, and teleport into Bandana's flat with all my shields activated, expecting an assault. None comes. All is quiet.

The room is desert and a mess, though, bearing signs of a fight. A sudden teleportation signature nearby alerts me, but by the time I beam back to the alley where I had left Shiro, he's not here anymore.

I jump into the sky, expending my scan as far and as fast as I can, knowing that it's in vain but trying anyway. They are probably already back in the Dark Kingdom, out of reach. I just wish one of them would have stayed behind so I could take my frustration out on her.

Not now. We had so few time left, but the Queens wouldn't even let us have that. The pain is almost physical, and whatever the Youma called me in my back, the Ice King or what not, I feel like all is left of me is a burning rage.

But I have no target for it around, and I can't let Shiro down. Not this time. Not once more.

I can't go back to the Dark Kingdom to get him. It would be suicide. They must be waiting for me, and even if I could take any youma on her own, they would beat me by sheer number and the help of Beryl. I don't have enough energy.

So...

The sun sets then rises again on my work. It's no longer necessary to hide my spells from Beryl - if she wants me, I'm all for an occasion to give her a piece of my mind.

My scheme is ready. People start noticing the ice maze in the square near the Starlight Tower. Unsuspecting, they get into it. At each step they make between the polished walls, their energy is drained from them into their reflection in the ice, and then to me.

Time passes by, making me impatient. People keep getting in, lured by the lights inside, poor naive mortals, and my energy keeps increasing. Soon...

Soon the Sailor Senshi arrive, too. Mercury analyzes the maze, then Jupiter and Mars block the access to the people. They get in, confident in Mercury's computer to find the way to the center.

It would work, if there was a center. As it turns out, the trap fulfilled its purpose. I teleport the five Senshi to me in a building nearby.

"Good night, Senshi. I was waiting for you."

Of course, they get mad at me. I let them rant and accuse me for a while, then when my patience grows too thin, I interrupt them.

"Are you finished? Will you listen to me now?"

"Why would we? You had sworn you wouldn't harm innocents, and you betrayed your word!", comes the fast reply from the princess.

"It was my only way to contact you without alerting Queen Beryl on my projects. I am proposing you an alliance."

They stare at me in distrust.

"We have a common goal. You want to get Tuxedo Kamen back. They kidnapped Zoisite. We can join forces to attack Beryl on two sides. I will show you a way to the Dark Kingdom, and I will be rallying the youma who are faithful to me."

They don't seem convinced. I can't blame them. The ever logical Mercury points out the flaw in my plan.

"Didn't you tell us that if Metallia died, you would die too?"

"And it will happen. But they took Zoisite away. I can't let that insult remain unpunished. If I have to die, I will die fighting."

"Why do you even care?", asks Sailor Mars.

Venus drags her back by the arm, and though still looking defiant to me, she asks for some time to discuss the decision.

I let them walk to the far end of the room. It doesn't matter, because I hear them anyway. Venus, who bears this name for a reason, tells them why Zoisite may matter to me, beyond the mere insult of taking away something that belongs to me. Why it may not be a trap. I would normally deny that it is this obvious, but I don't care if that can convince them to help me.

After some time they come back towards me, and the princess does another of her annoying speeches about justice, defying me to betray them once more, but accepting the proposition anyway.

The only condition she puts to it is my releasing the victims of the maze, safe.

No problem. I have all that I wanted : a bit more energy, and allies. I let the ice melt into the ground, freeing the humans, weakened but in no physical danger.

Then we start discussing the details of our attack.

The cats are my most distrustful interlocutors, but it's as well. They check every detail I give them about the plan. They are not overly surprised that there is a passage to it starting at the Game store : they had apparently located a suspicious energy there.

The Dark Kingdom is well guarded, but there is a flaw in our defenses that has been used against me to trap Zoisite. We can put wards in definite places, but we can't locate people. We can only - for those of us who are trained into it, at least - locate the use of magic.

As such, even though I can't teleport to the Dark Kingdom without being immediately detected, if I can get into the place without using a spell, I should be able to sneak in by surprise.

And I do know a passage that will not be guarded. One that I purposefully created eons ego, when I thought that facing the other Tennous plots, I might one day need a way to escape from the Dark Kingdom, or have Youma going in and out discreetly.

I count on the Senshi to create a diversion while I will explore Metallia's realm.

_to be continued..._


	11. Mystery

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.  
**Author's notes : **this one is special, as I wanted another point of view. So it's Minako speaking (she happens to be my favorite inner Senshi, and she is the only one who could guess what's spoken of here...).

* * *

**Chapter 11 : Mystery**

_Aino Minako's diary._

Dear diary,

Today has been very strange.

You remember what I wrote earlier after we met Zoisite in civilian disguise, and what Kunzite told us about him? That he had lost his memories and his powers, and that they had both deserted the Dark Kingdom?

Ami had confirmed to us that he had said the truth at least about Zoisite's powers. And later that day, Zoisite also said the same thing about his memory loss.

Not that I would trust him usually, and I'd normally suspect that he had set that trap with the two youma who attacked us. But both of them did seem to try to kill him, and eventually he got nothing from us, and didn't attack us either.

So, I figured we should at least give him and Kunzite the benefit of the doubt, or at least turn our attention to the Queens.

I thought about it later, from what we had seen and what else Kunzite had said. In the Starlight Tower, he did confront Queen Beryl and said he would not fight for her any longer. And he protected Zoisite from her when she asked him to kill him.

He just refused to say if that had anything to do with him deserting, but... my intuition, or Venus, whispered something to me each time I saw these two together. Something in the way he spoke the name of Zoisite, maybe just the fact that there was something in his voice when he spoke of him... While I never heard anything but coldness in it.

From the first time we met, when Zoisite had set us a trap as a fake Sailor Moon. It was already unusual to see two Tennou working together. At that time, yet, while Zoisite had seemed to be concerned about Kunzite, it didn't look reciprocal.

Well today, after school, Artemis and Luna gathered us near the Starlight Tower, where an ice maze attraction had appeared. Ami's computer analyzed it as being of youma origin and draining people's energy.

When we entered it, we were soon caught by a teleportation spell. It was Kunzite.

When he asked for our assistance, the other ones all thought he was trying to fool us, but once again Venus suggested something other.

It is hard to believe that there might be a kind of corrupted love between two members of the Dark Kingdom, especially of the Shitennou. And especially these two ones.

The girls had told me that Nephrite, the Tennou who was killed by Zoisite before I joined them, seemed to have grown to like Naru. He even went as far as protecting her from Zoisite's youma. So, they are not completely immune to feelings.

But this only proved that Zoisite was remorseless enough to kill his own kind, joyfully even.

Kunzite's condition to his help only fueled more distrust from my fellow Senshi, as it was out of character for him, they say.

Could there really be something other than a twisted parody of love between two Tennou as ruthless as Zoisite and Kunzite? My mind tells me it can't, but my heart, and my Senshi intuition coming from my connection to Venus, says the contrary.

Maybe we shouldn't trust that, but no matter what it is, I think I can trust that Kunzite is now mad enough at Metallia and Beryl to turn against them.

I hope I am not making a mistake, because I convinced Usagi and the other girls to follow me on this one. If I am wrong, not only our lives, but the freedom of Earth, might suffer from it.

Tomorrow morning, we will take the path that he indicated to us, that according to him leads to an access to the Dark Kingdom. Artemis and Luna's first analysis confirms it, so we are taking the fight into the enemy's lair.

I don't know if we will come back at all.

Venus, be strong enough to shake the hold of evil on these two Tennou, for the destiny of Earth might depend on them now.

_to be continued..._


	12. Freed

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.  
**Author's notes :** Kunzite back to the narration, and back in the Dark Kingdom. Aaaaand ACTION!

* * *

**Chapter 12 : Freed**

The morning after, I check that the Senshi are preparing to follow the path I opened for them, and I teleport to the entrance of the other passage, the one nobody knows except me.

I drop down my magic wards. I have to walk from there if I want to even reach the Dark Kingdom without being spotted. The narrow tunnel gets totally dark after a few turns, so that even I can't see enough to pace. I brought one of those Earthian flashlights with me, having found out that electricity is far more difficult to detect than smoke or spells for youma.

In the other hand, I hold my sword. It's been long I haven't had the use for it in a real fight. In some domains, classics are still a sure choice.

It's a long walk, as I wanted to make sure to keep a safety margin. Unfortunately, it gives me all the time to wonder what Metallia and Beryl have done with Shiro since he has been taken away from me. Thoughts I had been able to keep away while I was plotting the details of my plan.

Thoughts that I've failed him once more.

I have little hope that he will still be alive if I find him. And even if he is, I doubt I will see the end of the day. I have a choice between helping the Senshi to take Metallia down, which would kill me, or dying in the battle if we aren't strong enough to overcome her.

My deal with the Senshi implies that if Shiro is alive, if I find him, and if the Senshi win, then they will bring him back with them once the battle is over, and leave him in peace.

I know that the odds are low, but it's the only thing that keeps me from rushing in the battle to take down as many youma as possible before they would just kill me.

I stop suddenly and turn the light off. I heard a distant sound and I listen carefully to identify it. As my eyes become more used to darkness, I realize that it's not complete anymore. Luminescent moss softly radiates on the walls, a faded purple that is enough to show me a fork in the passage not far ahead of me.

It also means I passed the borders of the Dark Kingdom, as this moss doesn't grow on Earth. I move forward with added care, hoping to progress as far as possible before alarming Beryl's troops.

As I remember the map, the right passage leads to a hidden entrance in my castle, and the left one to another concealed in a rarely used corridor not far from it. I take the left branch, suspecting that a ward has probably been put around my castle.

Before coming out of the illusion of wall hiding my escape route from passers-by, I wait a few minutes, then carefully walks towards the dungeons. As I pass near a cornice giving a good view on my domain, I stop in my tracks.

The high walls of my castle are now black and burned, the few windows open holes on rampaged rooms. This... was just a place, and I am not shattered by its loss.

But it's also the place where I retreated with Zoisite, where we were something else than Metallia's pawns, so rarely. The few memories left of this time are now in my mind only, even the material reminders have been wiped out like Zoisite's memory.

And like him if I don't find him quickly.

A wet sound comes my way. I stop and wait. It's a slow, repelling friction echo on the damp floor. Not a soldier's footstep. I raise my sword silently, until the noise sounds just around the corner.

I aim low and jump on what's behind the rock, circling its boneless neck and pressing my sword against it.

"No move, no sound."

As I had suspected, it's one of the many sluggish youma who endlessly slide in the corridors, dissolving the wastes in their acid spit on the way. Not designed for fight at any rate, though I'm cautious as to not touch her dribbling underside. But since they move around everywhere in the Kingdom, they do grab valuable information sometimes.

This one is presently stiffened in fright under my weight, and doesn't dare to turn her head to me.

"Where is Zoisite? Speak low."

Her gurgling voice gives me the answer I had feared.

"In the Queen'ssss private quargtergssss. It'ssss all I know."

Beryl's quarters don't only comprise her bedchambers, but also her own jail and torture chambers for 'special' guests, and the lab where she experiments on her spells... Plenty of opportunities for her to take revenge on Shiro.

"Was he alive when he was brought there?"

"Yessss..."

That's better than nothing. But I can't hope to invest Beryl's quarters, not alone. From the state of my castle, I assume I was properly disavowed, which renders my task of finding support more difficult.

"What happened to my youma?"

"The gjailssss..."

Beryl must be softening, or getting some sense after all. I expected she would have them all killed, but she will need arms to fight the Senshi. Eventually she seems to have realized that, and any loyalty to me that she might fear from my youma would be useless if I die.

So that is why they ambushed us, after all...

I raise my sword behind the youma's head, knock her down and pushes her body into a narrow sideway. Her spongy flesh would be too resistant to cutting and the smell of her trash-tainted blood would alarm more quickly than her absence.

I follow my path to the jails, which are better guarded than they used to, confirmation that there are dangerous prisoners inside. As I'm devising a plan to get rid of the four guardian youma, they look up suddenly. Beryl's irritated voice resonates into the hollow caves.

"Idiots! The Senshi have found the Tokyo entrance and are progressing towards the D Point! Go there and stop them!"

Perfect timing for your appearance, Senshi. Two of the youma teleport away. While the other two start gibbering about the news, I jump in their back and strike one before they even see me, cutting her head. The last one barely has the time to counter-attack before I take her down.

I find my youma gathered in the biggest cell, in the deep end of the corridor. It's time to use magic now, so I deactivate the ward spell and break the door with one blow.

The spell preventing anyone to use magic inside the cells is still holding, but I used a similar one on some on my prisoners, so it doesn't take me long to annihilate it.

"Are you all here?", I ask.

They seem more than a little surprised to see me. As my gaze fall over each of them, I notice that many wear burn marks and wounds. Nothing deadly or disabling, but certainly painful. Torture.

And healers should have taken care of that. Where is my own? She doesn't seem to be in the cell.

I ask for her. Furihuri replies.

"In a separate cell. Beryl said that whoever would try to help us would suffer the same punishment as Bandana."

They part and I now see, on the far wall, that Bandana is pinned there like a butterfly, limbs spread, metal nails in her arms and feet, whip scars barring her flesh.

One of her companions is by her side, holding her head to keep her from badly cutting her throat on the steel collar fixing it to the wall.

"Free the healer. Bring her here".

I hear rushed footsteps as some of the youma follow my orders.

I walk to the pair and free Bandana, moving her telekinetically in the air, not willing to put pressure on her wounds. She opens one of her eyes to me - the other being too swollen.

Beryl did realize who had killed Ashura, after all.

"Rest now. You served me well."

The healer walks in, not injured at all. She starts to work on Bandana right away. I turn to the others.

"I need help. I was going to stay away from the Dark Kingdom because I had no reason to fight you, but Beryl took Zoisite."

Then because it's too late to lie to them, and because I chose my youma among the ones who were not easy to fool anyway, I feel compelled to be honest. It's a more sensible thing to do than risking them to turn against me at the worst moment if they find out I manipulate them.

"This is a war. The Senshi are coming down here, and while they make a diversion, I will try to find Zoisite who has been taken to Beryl's quarters. If you want to follow me, do it. If you don't, all I ask is that you stay away from this conflict. In any case, it is likely that we will all die today, whether the Senshi win or not."

I can feel them slowly digesting my speech. But that doesn't faze them. They were ready to die from the moment Beryl threw them in jail, or before.

Saiyuki, my pretty scaly spy, steps out of line and asks softly.

"Are you asking us to die without any hope of saving anything?"

She's right. I can't convince them of doing that. They don't have my motivation. I drop the truth.

"I hope to save Zoisite. He has been cured from Metallia's energy by the Ginzuishou, so he should be able to survive her demise, if the Senshi win. I made a deal with them to ensure his safety if that happens."

There are a few whispers in the ranks. I know most of them were not fond of Zoisite and his temper. He was never as bad to them as Beryl herself, though. They seemed to have some kind of "I ignore you, you obey me" agreement.

Saiyuki however got along with him pretty well, and with just a look to the others, she steps forward and bows.

"I will help you. Metallia did the first move against us without any reason, except for Bandana's action."

"I'm... sorry..."

The weak murmur came from Bandana.

Saiyuki has a reassuring move for her.

"Don't apologize. You did nothing but your duty, and we will do ours."

As if she was speaking for all of them, the youma gather closer to her and nod in agreement, saying each a word of submission to me or revenge against the Queens.

That is a pleasant surprise. I always treated them rather well, but I didn't expect them to follow me so far, so willingly. They must know that if Dark Kingdom sees its last day, it's a good time to pay old debts.

"Fine. Healer, is Bandana transportable?"

She raises a furry eyebrow.

"Yes she is, but she can't fight."

"She won't fight. You will take her to a mansion on Earth. Bupu?"

My little servant makes her way among the hips of fighters, and waits for my orders. I cast the locating spell that will allow them all to find their way to what was Nephrite's lair, where I modified the wards last night to include them to the access list.

"You will stay with them and attend them. The mansion will be the retreat point if things don't turn the way we hope."

Furihuri shrugs.

"Will it be worth retreating anywhere if we seem to lose?"

"Any time won over death is worth it, especially if it gives you a chance to fight back."

That's a lesson I learned the hard way lately...

The healer vanishes, taking Bandana and Bupu with her.

"From here we're heading straight to Beryl's quarters. We can't let anybody stop us. Are you ready?"

"Kunzite-sama..."

I turn back to Saiyuki. She hands me something wrapped in a cloth.

"Before Beryl decided that we were all suspects, and when she ordered your castle to be destroyed, I managed to save this."

I unwrap the cloth to see the gold frame bearing the picture of me and Zoisite taken by Bandana.

When did my youma turn into sentimental beings? Has Metallia's hold on us been weakening and allowed that, while she was imprisoned by the Ginzuishou? Or was Shiro's humanity contagious?

I nod and thank her, however, and slip the package under my jacket.

_To be continued..._


	13. Rebels

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes :** it's the final chapter, actually. There will just be an epilogue after this. Still Kunzite narrating, mostly.

* * *

**Chapter 13 : Rebels**

The halls are rather quiet. I suspect that troops have been gathered on the Senshi's path. We can't teleport directly into Beryl's quarters. Like all the high rank officers ones, they are protected against direct intrusion. So we teleport nearby in a room big enough for us to gather, and attack from there.

The Queen's first line of defense only consists of casual youma. They don't worry me. The once flourishing ranks of Metallia's armies have been severely reduced by the Moon war, before the Deep Sleep. And the Senshi and the Queens took their toll on the remaining soldiers. But while the other Tennou worked in the front lines, my party didn't suffer much.

With nearly all my youma with me, we can outnumber and out power the low-ranked groups easily. As a matter of fact, none of them manages to keep us from moving forward to Beryl's quarters. When told what is happening, some even stop the fight and let us in, unsure of what side to take.

But then we face Beryl's own youma. More powerful, more determined, better trained. I'm opening the way with Saiyuki to detect and secure possible traps, so we're the first to be attacked. A winged youma bolts right on us with her claws extended. We both bow out of reach, I punch her against the wall on which Sayuki then pins her with her dagger.

One down, more coming.

I'm trying to save my energy for the real fights, in case we would have to deal with Beryl herself. So I'm mainly using my sword and pushing them towards my youma, who circle them and kill them.

The keyword is not stopping. Each new turn of the corridor brings a new enemy, hitting with tentacles, lianas, fire or wind, raw force or magic. I lose track of how many of them I've hit, and if my youma can dispose of them fast enough. The smell of blood and the traces of spells in the air remind me that Shiro has been her prisoner for more than a day, now, too long, way too long...

In my haste to find Shiro, I run alone into an open hall. A stupid thing to do.

I hear a familiar war cry at my left and instinctively reinforce my shield just in time to be protected from the blow, but the strength of it strikes me against the opposite wall nevertheless.

My sight has been blurred by the violence of the shock, and I smell sakura flowers before my eyes can actually see the lithe silhouette walking to me.

Zoisite. Not Shiro, Zoisite, in full Tennou uniform, radiating more power than he ever had, a sword in his right hand. But his eyes... Are not his. Red, yet looking blinded. And the cruel smirk, though he often had one, is not quite the same.

He sniggers, and even that is a deformed version of his usual snigger.

"Ah, Kunzite... I was wondering if you would bother to come for him."

That is Metallia's tone echoing in his voice. She possessed him again. And from the amount of energy he displayed in his attack, she increased her hold on him.

I clench my jaws and stand up, hiding how shaken I've been.

"But since you have... You know, you've always been my favorite. After all, you were the first Tennou I created. So, I'm giving you a last chance to live. And to save your little student. You know that if the Senshi win, you will both die. Go and kill the Senshi, and I may forgive your stupidity and take you back by my side. Both."

I tighten my grip on my sword, trying not to stumble. Now... there really is no hope left. That voice I once revered makes me nauseous, coming from my lover's lips.

"I can't follow you if I don't believe in you, Metallia."

She sneers.

"Then you only have one choice left, Kunzite. Let your pet kill you, or kill him with your own hands."

_in the throne room_

_Sailor Moon is dropped on the throne room floor by the teleporting shield. _

_"Here you are, Sailor Moon. Welcome in the Dark Kingdom."_

_Beryl is standing regal, a cynical smile on her painted lips. However, her eyes betray nervousness._

_Sailor Moon stands up to face her nemesis, half-hidden by the moving shadows of the room._

_"You are Queen Beryl?"_

_"I am the one who destroyed your Kingdom centuries ago, Princess Serenity. Let me introduce you to my servant... Prince Endymion."_

_Shadows retreat to the walls, revealing Tuxedo Kamen in the Earth uniform he wore in Sailor Moon's flashbacks from their life in the Silver Millenium. He's kneeling by Beryl's side, kissing her hand. Sailor Moon stumbles back, shocked by the sight, as he stands up and faces her, with no expression on his face._

_"No... It can't be true. Endymion, say something!"_

Without a warning, Zoisite runs on me with his sword held high. I parry, and push him away with a Black Mist.

He raises a shield more powerful than I expected him to, resisting the magical wind. His powers have increased to match mine, if not more. I teleport on his left and bolts on him, knowing that he always was weaker in physical fights, and that he won't expect a direct attack from me.

_Endymion stays silent as he suddenly brandishes his sword and pounces on her. She shrieks and avoids him by falling on the floor. She still can't grasp the awful reality of fighting the man she loves. _

_Infused with Metallia's power, though, Endymion doesn't have the same dilemma. He produces a black rose and drops it on Sailor Moon. The flower erupts in a net of lianas encircling her, striking her with electric shocks._

My maneuver caught Zoisite by surprise and I pin him against the wall with my whole body, then hastily cast a Binding spell. Roots blurt out of the rock, tying his limbs closely. I loosen my hold on him, wondering if I could break Metallia's control.

"Shiro, look at me, remember! Fight Metallia! You're way too unruly to let her control you. You don't want to fight me. Remember what we were..."

What we were... I don't even know what that was. Has Metallia wiped out his mind from the recent events? I get the golden frame out of my jacket and show him.

"It's you and I, together. I brought you from Earth as Shiro, and made you the Tennou Zoisite. You were my student, and more than that."

_The rose withers and crumbles into dust once its energy is spent, leaving Usagi aching and weakened. She crawls to her Moon Stick, trying to reach it as Endymion slowly walks closer, raising his sword above his head for the lethal blow._

_Sailor Moon turns and throws her Moon Tiara on him, stopping him. The sword falls down, followed by Endymion. Usagi can't take her eyes off him, panting and crying at the pain she had to inflict him._

_But it's not over. Metallia's energy in him forces him to stand up again. Stumbling like a drunk man, he grabs his sword and once more raises it. _

_Chiming notes unsettle him. Sailor Moon is sitting at his feet, vulnerable, holding towards him the musical locket as her only defense, tears in her eyes._

_"Remember, Endymion... You gave me this locket on the Moon. We were happy in that time, before Metallia ruined everything. We loved each other. Please, remember."_

He struggles in his bonds. I hold his face and try to connect once more. I don't have a lot of time, chaos is raging around us and coming closer, knocking at my shield.

"Zoisite... Please, remember this..."

I hope to awaken memories in him with a kiss, and for a few seconds he stays still. But then he bites me viciously and I move back, shocked, tasting blood. I don't want to give up. I can't kill him. Even if we won't survive this day, I need to see him being himself once more, talk to him. I drop in a plea.

"Zoisite... Come back to me."

_Hesitantly, Endymion reaches out, touches the locket. On the Moon Stick, The Ginzuishou sparkles, and a shower of light covers both Sailor Moon and Endymion, reviving their memories of the Silver Millenium._

_The crystal power washes up Endymion's mind from Metallia's influence, crippling her magical tentacles in its purifying light. In her cocoon, Metallia shrieks as if burned and gathers her energy, deserting the dark corridors._

I feel ripples of power going through the Kingdom around us, like if something was absorbed by its center, a magical black hole. The red light in Zoisite's eyes flickers and fades, they return to their translucent dark green.

He looks up to me, vulnerable like he allowed only me to see him.

"Kunzite-sama? I could see but I couldn't do anything..."

I suppress the Binding and draw him into a tight hug.

"It's all right. Do you remember?"

I break the embrace just enough to look at his face, checking that Metallia's influence has completely disappeared from it, and happy to just be able to gaze at his beauty again.

He nods, with a shy smile.

"Everything. Even what the Ginzuishou had erased from my memory. And what happened since..."

I cut short into the explanations to kiss him. This time, he doesn't bite me. Not in an unpleasant way anyway.

_The light fades, Queen Beryl is fuming on top of the stairs. She curses at the couple and conjures a big crystal, launching it on them. Endymion turns and throws a red rose that shatters the weapon and keeps flying right into Beryl's chest. Endymion protects Sailor Moon from the ice shards but is stabbed by one. Beryl's skin starts to crackle, and she phases through the floor to escape._

_Sailor Moon tries to comfort Endymion, lying on her lap. They exchange sweet words, then he closes his eyes for the last time._

I hear steps closing by, and someone faking a cough.

We break up, and Saiyuki bows.

"Happy to see you safe and free, Zoisite-sama. Sorry to interrupt, Kunzite-sama, but the situation is not getting better here."

I look around, keeping my arm around Zoisite's waist. More of my youmas are coming in the hall, but the only other ones in sight are no longer a danger.

"Situation?"

"All youma have either deserted or been defeated. Sparse news from the Senshi indicate that there has been losses, but we don't know how much or who."

Another quake shakes the room. Zoisite snuggles closer against me. He won't let the perspective of an imminent death ruin an occasion like this.

"If they had lost, Beryl would be after us already. But it's not over yet, or we wouldn't be here to see it. Saiyuki, tell all my youmas to retreat in the mansion as soon as possible."

"We won't..."

"There is nothing more you can do here. It's only Beryl and Metallia left, and you're not powerful enough to fight them."

She frowns her scaly face, but won't dare talking against me, even now.

"What about you, master?"

"I will fight to get my revenge. Zoisite..."

"I'm coming with you."

He clings to me fiercely.

"You won't... I came here to give you a chance to escape."

"And you think I would live without you? Wherever you go, I will follow."

A little part of me still wants to protect him, even if it's against his will. But his words fill me with a fiery joy.

And as cold as ice, the Tennou in me tells me that with his reinforced powers, he's too valuable an asset to be sent away.

Saiyuki is back near us when we stop kissing once more. The walls start crumbling around us, and I set a shield to protect us.

"All the youmas are gone, Kunzite-sama. Do you still want?..."

"Yes, go with them. Celebrate while you can. You fought well. Thank them for me."

She nods and vanishes. No more time for kissing. Just revenge.

"Zoisite..."

"Where do we go now, Kunzite-sama?"

It wouldn't be safe to try to get closer from Metallia's old lair, so I teleport us to the surface. The North Pole infinity of white is tainted by a shadow that keeps spreading. Ice is crackling and suddenly bursts at a distance. It is... Can it be?

It looks like Beryl, but she's now ten times taller than before, and her skin is the same turkish blue as Metallia was when she still had a shape. Their energies have obviously fused into something even worse.

"Look Kunzite-sama! Sailor Moon!"

Zoisite drags my attention to the small silhouette walking in the snow, looking even more fragile compared to the giant Beryl. And alone. Are her fellow Senshi all dead? I wouldn't put my faith within her hands if she doesn't have their support.

Yet instead of the silly, scared little girl that I fought a few times, she now walks with self-confidence towards her death.

Beryl throws a bolt of pure energy at her, and the ice cover explodes on its path. We are too far to be in danger, but it won't do us any good if Sailor Moon is dead. I can't use the Ginzuishou to the scale required to destroy Metallia. It would kill me before her.

The battle isn't over. The ice melt by the attack has formed a sort of tower, and the top of it parts like a flower, revealing Princess Serenity. The Moon Princess has awakened once more, and she holds the Ginzuishou in her hands. Its light strikes Beryl, but she strikes back. The two flows meet halfway, and struggle in an instable balance.

I hope that Serenity remembers how I told her to use the Crystal when it would come to Metallia. I tighten my embrace on Zoisite.

"Ready, Zoisite?"

He nods, gives me for the last time his predatory smile.

"Yes Kunzite-sama. I want to make Beryl suffer."

I entangle a Black Mist spell with his Fire Storm. Both strike Beryl on her side, distracting her. The giant demon stumbles, surprised to have a new opponent.

_Serenity's attention is suddenly caught by a mixed bolt of darkness and fire hitting Beryl's ribs. She howls and splits her attack to face the other front._

_The princess recognizes Kunzite's signature attack, and his words flow back in her memory. He told her how her mother had managed to defeat Metallia with the Ginzuishou. Freeing all its power and combining it with her own life force. It's what she has to do now, she knows it._

_She takes a deep breath, fighting her fear. She has a thought for Kunzite, wondering if he saved Zoisite. He will die, too, if she uses the crystal. But her friends have died to save the world, it's only right that she would take the same risk in their memory, and Kunzite knew what would happen to him when he offered them his help._

_Ghostly hands join hers on the Moon Stick. Turning her head, she sees the faces of the other Senshi, encouraging her._

_"Thank you, girls."_

Beryl is dividing her attention to resist both our attacks and Sailor Moon's own. She's weakening, but with Metallia's full power in her, she is resisting step by step. Zoisite presses his arm around me, and we both increase the strength of our spells. It's too late to hold back. I feel my energy pulsing through my veins, flowing out of me, not unlike when I used the Ginzuishou.

It's the same urge here. Our bodies are strained by the effort, but we both keep standing.

I see the glow around Sailor Moon intensifying. The girl is risking everything, too.

_The light going out of the Ginzuishou grows like a sun, sweeping back Metallia's attack like a feather in the wind, slowly expanding until it absorbs her in its blinding radiance. Then it seems to burst from inside, its roar covering Beryl's shout._

_Ice is vaporized all across the battle field, in an explosion that no one can hear anymore…_

_

* * *

_


	14. Redeemed?

**Title : **Wipe Out  
**Fandom : **Sailor Moon (anime) Dark Kingdom  
**Pairing : **Kunzite / Zoisite  
**Rating : **a bit of violence and hints of sex  
**Copyright : **Zoisite, Kunzite, Sailor Moon and the rest are the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, if I recall.

**Author's notes :** And that would be the epilogue. I hesitated to write it, so depending on what kind of ending you like better, if you don't like this one you may be wanting to ignore it and pretend that the story ends at the previous chapter. I won't feel offended g

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**Chapter 14 (Epilogue) : Redeemed?**

_It's a brand new spring day. Cherry trees are in bloom, and Tokyoites are out to watch their delicate flowers. Usagi Tsukino and her friend Naru Osaka are enjoying their day off with a walk, chatting like any other care-free schoolgirls, of teen crushes and fancy dreams for their future._

_They pass by a modern building and take a peek through the wide window panes, at the scene inside._

_Usagi gazes with envy at the beautiful women moving and posing in front of a photographer. Some others are getting ready, trying on original designers creations. _

_"Ooooh, models, I'd love to look like them and work like they do! It must be so exciting to travel around the world, being on the cover of magazines..."_

_"I don't know, Usagi, I think I like having my family and a peaceful life. I'm not sure that they are all that happy."_

_"Come on Naru, what is not to like about this life? People would admire my beauty and see my talent!"_

_"What could you ever model for? Meatballs?"_

_Usagi turns to the guy who just said this in a gently mocking tone. He's tall, a few years older than her, with black short hair. She recognizes him as Motoki's friend, the one who always teases her. She sticks her tongue out at him and paces away, followed by a giggling Naru._

_Inside the buiding of Supernatural Beauties, behind the photographer, two men watch them as they leave._

_"So... They really lost all their memories then?"_

_"As we had told you, Lord Kunzite. Some of us followed them for a while to make sure, and they don't even seem to recognize each other. We suspect that the cats still know, though, so we always avoided to appear to them in youma shape."_

_Zoisite sniggers._

_"It's too good to be true. As long as they stay out of our way..."_

_Kunzite drags him closer and buries his face in his copper gold hair._

_"Luck usually smiles to their kind. We should consider moving to other countries, at least for the two of us that the cats might recognize. I'm not sure that our deal would stand since they lost the memory of it, too."_

_He remembers..._

A burning light grows to totally fill my sight. Already drained by the energy I have thrown in the battle, I can't shield it and have to stop my own attack to even resist it. Through the thunder and roar of light crumbling Beryl's defense, echoes of a victorious music seem to resonate in my ears, but maybe it's just exhaustion taking its toll.

I hug Zoisite fiercely and turn my back to the light to protect him from the Ginzuishou's healing power, despite knowing how hopeless it is.

The light is so bright that I can see it through my closed eyelids...

Warmth. Weight. Silence. Breath. Weight.

Impressions start to come back, one by one as if my brain needed to input them separately before it would start working properly.

The silence is not complete. I can hear my own breath, even though it costs me to breathe in, with a weight on my chest and muscles feeling numb. I try to move my legs, but they seem to be entangled with something, and they're still too weak to shake the obstacle.

Now, it's not just my breath, it's... one another that is getting strong enough for me to hear. I attempt to raise my arms and realize that they're clasped around something. Someone.

Memories flow back.

"Zoisite?"

I open my eyes, and the dim light is enough for my Tennou sight to discern his fair hair, his head tucked against my neck, and around us, a modern Earthian room. Flood starts to flow faster in my limbs, and I move him slightly aside, quickly checking if he's injured. He's still wearing his Tennou uniform, and seems healthy, though inert.

Before I can draw conclusions from this, Zoisite shivers and opens his eyes. He blinks a few times, focuses on me and weakly snuggles back against me, obviously as numb as I was some time ago.

I'm lost for words and stay silent for a few seconds, relishing this carefree moment, before I have to break it and ask.

"Do you think we are alive?"

He cuddles closer and I can nearly hear his pout in his voice.

"Does it matter? We're free, safe, and in a comfy place."

Ah... In a way, it's so typical of him that I can't help but smiling. But I am more curious and distrustful than he is.

"Aren't you curious to know what happened?"

He sighs, his face still buried against my neck, hot breath against my skin.

"Either we're dead, or Metallia lied."

The words shatter my quietness. Despite my recent betrayal, I had never paused to consider my feeling towards Metallia. I was angry at the liberty she gave to Beryl of ruining our world, but I had mostly aimed my resent at the red-haired queen, rather than to my Goddess.

She had given me life. She was everything I knew and everything that remained stable during my long life, while the Earthian kingdoms rose and fell around me, each time we were trapped for centuries after one lost battle or another.

Even though she had supported Beryl against me, and tried to use Zoisite against me, I had never questioned the loyalty I owed her and our connection. She had given us life, her death would be our death too.

A discreet sound, someone knocks at the door. I wonder if I have gathered enough energy for a shield, but I figure enemies wouldn't bother announcing themselves.

Upon my request, Bandana comes in with a slight limp. She still bears a few half healed scars.

"I thought I had heard you. How do you feel?"

"Confused", I say. "What happened?"

Saiyuki follows Bandana in the room.

"The sky was getting dark here when we came back, until we felt Metallia's power vanishing. I teleported at the D Point to see what happened, and found only you and Zoisite, unconscious in the ice. I brought you back here, and the healer tried to awaken you, but you were both in the Deep Sleep. She treated the wounds and said we should let you recover."

The Deep Sleep... The lethargic state in which we fall when our energy level gets too low, the one that we were usually thrown into when heroes of one kind or another banned us from Earth for a while. That explains the numb limbs and confusion, since it slows down our functions to a vegetative stasis.

I had always assumed that it was related to Metallia being sealed, but it may have been a lie, too.

"Metallia?..."

"We could find no trace of her energy, or Beryl's."

"And yet..."

I think that they feel some of my discomfort as Saiyuki completes my sentence.

"And yet we all survived. All the youmas who managed to retreat here before the final fight. We think some others may have escaped, but we haven't met any yet. What happened on your side?"

I tell them about Metallia fusing with Beryl, and her fight against Sailor Moon and us.

"Any sign of Sailor Moon?"

"We're still looking for her. She hasn't come for us either."

Zoisite turns his face to them.

"How long did we sleep?"

"Four days."

He frowns and wrinkles up his nose.

"I need a bath."

The youma smile.

"We would have taken your clothes off for the Deep Sleep, but you wouldn't let go of each other."

And it didn't change much, as Zoisite hasn't released his grip on me ever since he awakened. I ignore the girls' affectionate grins.

They tell us that they furnished Nephrite's mansion to host all the survivors. Mostly my youmas, though not all of them. The healer has been very busy when they came back from the Dark Kingdom, and had mostly done the vital work, thus Bandana's limp.

So, there we are. Alive, free, armed with powers, and wondering what to do with those lives. More fights, conquering Earth for our own account... Or doing like Bandana, blending in among humans.

I look at Zoisite, who missed the sun when he lived in the Dark Kingdom. He has been changed by the experience. Not quite as clingy as he used to be when he was my student, not quite as distant as when he was my soldier. Not quite as insecure either, and no longer feeling the need to prove humans that he is more powerful than they are. Less my pet lover and more my peer.

I guess I like it better that way. We probably deserve some holidays to adjust. Long holidays.

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_The end now_  



End file.
